08/21/2026
to one of the most interesting and exciting projects we have been involved in to date.
In 2017 we were invited to meet along the banks of the North Saskatchewan River to discuss a new raw water intake to support Husky Energy's growing thermal program in the area. Our scope of the project involved prepping the bank of the river for the intake facility, constructing a deflection spur to divert the river flow and build a coffer dam to provide the necessary workspace for the construction and installation of the intake structure in the river; and remove it all once the structure was built.
A 200m long deflection spur was constructed of several thousand cubic meters of washed rock that was hauled down to the riverbank with rock trucks and placed with a dozer equipped with 3D Grade control.
Once the spur was in place, it allowed us to construct the coffer dam with fill material hauled from the top of the riverbank and placed with the same technique as the spur. The work began in early 2018 as soon as the ice was off the river and continued around the clock to make sure everything was in place before the river froze again in the fall. The coffer dam was armored with rock on the outside to prevent erosion and the inside the dam had sheet piles driven into the riverbed before the water was pumped out to provide additional protection for the crews that would be working inside the damn to build the concrete intake structure and all the necessary infrastructure.
Graham Construction completed the structure over the winter of 2018/19 while we worked on other tasks to support the project at the top of the riverbank 3.5kms away. The intake was completed in the summer of 2019, and we began the tedious removal of the coffer dam and deflection spur. To avoid any over exaction while we removed the material from the river, we used a Cat 349 excavator equipped with 3D GPS Grade Control to follow the original grade of the river bottom to return it to its original state.
It goes without question that the Husky Raw Water Intake was one of the most extensive projects Precision Contractors has been involved in. The environmental expectations were second to none as our equipment was working not only along the river, but also in the river as well. We are proud to have the opportunity to showcase our experience, resources, and ability to adapt to the challenges of a constantly changing environment. We worked closely with a dedicated team of professionals, and we appreciate being apart of the success of this high-profile project.