INNOVATION July-August 2014

Long Lake Hydro Project The 32-MW Long Lake Hydroelectric Project near Stewart, BC, is owned by Long Lake Hydro and was commissioned in December 2013. The project design was done by Canadian Projects with EBA Engineering (geotechnical) and Prime Engineering (electrical/controls). The project headworks has two unique sheetpile core dams and a low-level tunnel intake and spillway. The 7.2-km penstock develops 780 m of head, making this project one of the highest head hydroelectric plants in Canada. Power from the two-Pelton turbine powerhouse is transmitted by its challenging 10-km transmission line that parallels the BC-Alaska border over a high mountain peak and avalanche areas. The project improves the water quality of Cascade Creek and Salmon River during critical winter months. While previously impacted by old mining activity, it now provides a far-reaching solution for the community and the project partners. Project team: Paul G. Kemp, P.Eng.; Richard Slopek, P.Eng.; Cory Williams, P.Eng.

TurtleSeg Software UBC Electrical and Computer Engineering Associate Professor Rafeef Abugharbeih, P.Eng., and her colleagues at Simon Fraser University have developed software that makes sense of medical images. The software, called TurtleSeg, allows users to segment medical images faster and more accurately than existing software can. What sets it apart is the active-learning capability of the technology: TurtleSeg includes automated guidance, can highlight areas suspected to be poorly identified and alert users when additional investigation is required. Additionally, it provides better results in less time—60% spent on image analysis, reducing overall health care costs and wait times.

Huntingdon Station Huntingdon Station is a major natural gas distribution location for FortisBC and as such requires measures to protect the public safety through the addition of an odourant to make natural gas readily detectable. To better improve the overall system maintenance and operations, the ageing odourant system was replaced allowing finer tuning of the system and reducing the GHG emissions to the environment. This is the largest odourant train system to odourize natural gas in Canada. The upgrades included construction of an elevated building to house all equipment, exceeding the historical flood levels of the area. Owner: FortisBC. Project team: Niko Boskovic, P.Eng.; Peter Ling, P.Eng.; Andrew Loge, P.Eng.; Roger Vino, P.Eng.; Lovísa Thorsteinsdóttir; Johnny Wu, EIT.

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