CASE STUDY
SECURING CALGARY’S LARGEST WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY
When you think of sites that might need high security fencing, wastewater treatment plants might not be the first thing that spring to mind. However, these facilities are some of the most critical infrastructures in any modern city. Without clean water, health would suffer, our quality of life would plummet, and cities would quickly become unlivable. So, it just makes sense that when the City of Calgary decided to upgrade their largest wastewater treatment facility, they put security near the top of the list. THE PROBLEM WITH BONNYBROOK WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT Bonnybrook Wastewater treatment facility was first built in the 1930s, but the city of Calgary has grown a lot since then. Over the years, a patchwork of upgrades and maintenance had been done, but the facility was still showing its age. The city proposed and approved an ambitious billion-dollar upgrade program that would allow the plant to serve nearly 500,000 more people and accommodate city expansion up to at least 2030. However, as you can imagine with any large infrastructure project, this meant making a lot of changes, and installing and constructing a lot more complex water treatment equipment. Safety and security were a concern, and existing perimeter solutions just weren’t working. A MODERN HIGH SECURITY FENCE SOLUTION After consulting with engineers, architects and security specialists, the City of Calgary decided to use the Omega Max fence system to protect the plant during expansion. The Omega Max fence system is based on the well-known 358 welded mesh fence panel, installed on square posts with tamper resistant fittings. Like other 358 mesh fence systems, this Canadian sourced product is anti-climb and hard to cut with any standard hand tools. The duplex coating system which includes galvanized wire and powder coating also makes it very corrosion resistant and long lasting. EXTENSIVE FENCE LINE Once the product for the Bonnybrook fence was chosen, there was still the challenge of installing it along the perimeter. Planning and executing the installation of about 2,000 linear feet of 8-foot-high fence with a barbed wire overhang on an active industrial construction site is hard enough. When you are working with a rigid fence system that is unforgiving of any gradient anomalies, it becomes even more challenging. However, after successfully bidding the project, Rite-Way Fencing assigned their best industrial fence installation specialists, and tackled the project in carefully planned stages, coordinating with the project management team and other trades on site.
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JULY 2022 | FENCE NEWS USA
Towards the end of the project, the Rite-Way team also procured and installed custom Omega Max gates to match the high security fence installed on the site, including an 18-foot-wide double swing gate and a 30-foot-wide single cantilever. SAFE AND SECURE BY PLANNING AHEAD There has never been an extremely high need for high security fence systems in Canadian cities like Calgary, but that is changing. Instead of opting for a lower security fence that might not have been up to the task of securing critical infrastructure like the Bonnybrook Water Treatment Facility, the City of Calgary planned ahead, and chose a fence that will be future-proof. While the upfront investment in high security fence systems like this might be higher, it cuts costs in the long run. Which is why Rite-Way Fencing always recommends industrial customers choose the highest security fence system they can afford. Because security is always a good investment. Learn more about Rite-Way Fencing at www.ritewayfencing.com.
