UBC Okanagan MDES District 

Building on an earlier 25-year Master Planning phase completed by CURA, UBC Okanagan engaged CURA for Mechanical Engineering support for the 2017/2018 installation of 440m of twinned supply and return underground pre-insulated 250mm dia. district heating conduit.

CURA worked with WSP Canada and UBC Okanagan to determine the sizing and configuration of the first 440m section of underground hot water district energy backbone to support the phased construction of hot water utilities to accommodate the 25 year Campus Master Plan and an eventual campus build-out of 271,286m2 (2,920,100ft2).  The pipeline features an advanced leak detection system that can pinpoint leaks within 1’ of their location.

The project required close coordination of the pipe routing through a maze of existing site utilities as well as planning for the termination points at either end of the pipeline and a large service/valve manhole at the northern end of the pipeline.

The new pipeline was left dormant until sufficient funds were available in 2019 to finalize design and installation of utility interconnections and infrastructure at both ends of the pipeline.