Inuvik Regional Hospital Sewer Upgrade

Inuvik Regional Hospital is the only hospital in the Beaufort-Delta region and serves 6,700 residents. The facility provides an on-site pharmacy, emergency services, acute care, diagnostic imaging, laboratory, long-term care, rehabilitation, obstetrical care, and operating room services. The hospital’s sanitary system needed an upgrade, as the sewage tank was not functioning to its full capacity and beginning to give off fumes.

Williams Engineering (WE) consulted with the Government of the North West Territories and provided structural, mechanical, electrical, and civil services for this project. The original sewage holding tank/pumping system, approximately 15 years old, was located beneath the long-term care wing in the crawl space and was starting to fail due to ground heaving. The objective was to remove the tank and replace it with an exterior-mounted lift station. The scope of the project also included creating additional capacity for the future building expansion and a new long-term care facility constructed in 2021.

The structural team, with our architectural sub-consultant, designed the new sewage handling building. The new building was installed adjacent to the existing hospital, with the exterior finishes on the building closely matching the existing hospital. The mechanical team provided: control of pumps, heating and alarms from the DDC building automation system, as well as the status of the new sewage grinder with operating run hours for maintenance notification. The existing sewage holding tank and pumps were decommissioned, and the pumps and tanks were removed. Additionally, the WE electrical team supported the existing DDC system expansion to the new building.

No individual lift stations of this magnitude to date had been built within Inuvik, making it one of a kind. Working in an already operating healthcare facility posed a challenge, as it is the only hospital in the city of Inuvik. To mitigate risk and error, WE carefully coordinated and followed health safety codes, which was necessary for the success of this project.

The Inuvik Regional Hospital is currently functioning at full capacity, with a brand new exterior mounted lift station, and is equipped to handle the future long-term care facility to be built adjacent to the existing hospital.