Across Canada, provincial, territorial and municipal water and wastewater projects have been buoyed by the federal government’s $4 billion Infrastructure Stimulus Fund. Intended to provide short-term stimulus to the economy, funding can be used for both new construction and rehabilitation and retrofit of existing projects.
The Infrastructure Stimulus Fund came on the heels of a report by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and McGill University titled “Danger Ahead: The Coming Collapse of Canada’s Municipal Infrastructure.” According to that survey, “municipal infrastructure has reached the breaking point. Most was built between the 1950s and 1970s, and much of it is due for replacement. We can see the consequences in every community: potholes and crumbling bridges, water-treatment and transit systems that cannot keep up with demand, traffic gridlock, poor air quality and a lack of affordable housing.”
Citing the aging condition of underground infrastructure and the accelerated deterioration of water, wastewater and stormwater systems, the FCM/McGill survey estimated that $31 billion would be needed to repair these failing assets. Another $56.6 billion is the price tag to build new infrastructure needed for the country’s expanding population, the survey reported.
In Ontario, Canada, more boil water advisories are issued than any other province, with 679 communities on alert since 2006, according to the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The Ontario Sewer and Watermain Construction Association (OSWCA) has cited a backlog of water system repairs in the province that has resulted in crumbling sewer infrastructure and pollution that places Ontarians at risk.
In the Region of Peel, Ontario, the Infrastructure Stimulus Fund helped pay for restoration work on aging water reservoirs where interior concrete had deteriorated over time. “Several of these reservoirs were constructed 30, 40 or 50 years ago, so the municipalities are now going in and spending money to extend the expected service life of these structures,” Tnemec coating consultant David Walker of Avid Protective Products observed. “The engineers are finding severe deterioration of the concrete walls and columns in these structures, so they’re specifying a standard protective lining system from Tnemec to restore the integrity of this infrastructure.”
Walker reported that a half-dozen reservoirs in the Region of Peel have used Series 218 MortarClad, an epoxy-modified cementitious mortar, to resurface the concrete walls, columns, footings and floors. The lining system also includes a topcoat of Series 22 Pota-Pox 100, an advanced generation, 100 percent solids modified polyamine epoxy.
At the Hanlan Water Reservoir South in Mississauga, Ontario, concrete walls were severely deteriorated, so Series 217 MortarCrete, a single-component, rapid-setting cementitious mortar that was specifically designed for heavy-duty repairs was selected. Series 217 was spray applied and trowel-finished by hand, allowed to cure and then dry-abrasive blasted to achieve a SSPC-SP13/NACE No. 6 Surface Preparation of Concrete, ICRI-CSP 4-5 surface condition before being topcoated with Series 22.
In the Regional Municipality of York, the Infrastructure Stimulus program is helping to fund construction of new elevated water storage tanks, as well as the renovation of existing tanks.
Among recent projects to receive stimulus funding were new elevated water tanks in King City and Richmond Hill, Ontario, which were the first tanks in the province to use Tnemec’s advanced fluoropolymer coating system. Following proper surface preparation, interior and exterior steel was primed with Series 91-H2O Hydro-Zinc, a two-component zinc-rich aromatic urethane, which provides outstanding long-term corrosion resistance when used with other potable water tank coatings.
Series FC22 Epoxoline, an advanced generation, 100-percent solids, high-build polyamine epoxy, was applied on interior steel to provide additional film thickness for corrosion resistance. The coating is certified by NSF International in accordance with NSF/ANSI Std. 61 for use on the interior of potable water storage tanks.
The exterior of the tanks received an intermediate coat of Series 1075 Endura-Shield II, an aliphatic acrylic polyurethane, and a finish coat of Series 700 HydroFlon, an advanced fluoropolymer, which offers outstanding long-term gloss and color retention. HydroFlon is also highly resistant to ultraviolet (UV) light degradation, abrasion and chalking. “The finish coatings were applied with power rollers, which use a pump to move the coating to the rollers so the applicators aren’t constantly dipping the rollers,” Walker noted. “The coating contractor completed the Richmond Hill tank on the ground, but the one in King City was delayed due to winter weather and had to be coated from swing stages the following spring.”
In addition to King City and Richmond Hill tanks, the Region of York has scheduled an additional elevated water tank project and two recoats. All of the projects will use the same Tnemec coating system, which is cited in the Region of York’s master specification.