Miller Hull

Designer Marcy Shaw will be discussing “Innovation in the Design Process for the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant” as part of the 2023 American Public Work’s Association’s PWX Public Works Expo in San Diego.

The Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant (IIWWTP) used the innovative Integrated Design Process (IDP) to compose the Project Definition Report (PDR) that would later serve the implementation and construction phase. Taking a different approach to a large-scale infrastructure project, Metro Vancouver took this unique opportunity to demonstrate the cultural, environmental, historical, and ecological benefits through the lens of a health project that went beyond the technical solution of providing the region with the mandated upgrade in wastewater treatment.

The Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant PDR represents the synergies and opportunities that can arise via the highly collaborative IDP. It highlights a holistic approach to delivering a definition report for wastewater treatment or other infrastructure projects beyond providing the required upgrade to an essential service. It also expanded the success of the PDR to consider resiliency and future-proofing, regenerative opportunities for the diverse ecosystems on and around Iona Island and integrating the facility into the local context.

This process helped reframe a purely technical analysis and solution to one that focuses on the community’s health, the financial health of the region, and the ecology of the place.

Learning Objectives

• Compare the integrated design process model to other more conventional models by evaluating the benefits and identifying synergies resulting from this unique delivery method.
• Evaluate a holistic approach as it relates to specificity and context.
• Identify the project’s opportunities and synergies that emerged from the IDP collaborative process and how community feedback contributed to a framework for the next phase of design and construction.

Other speakers include Joyce Chang, P.Eng., Canada Wastewater Technology Leader at Jacobs Engineering.

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