HYDROPOWER LANDSLIDE SAFEGUARDS CITED IN NATIONAL ENGINEERING COMPETITION

Innovative Approach Safeguards Critical Energy Resource

WASHINGTON, DC (March 2023) – Barr Engineering Co. of Ann Arbor, Mich., has earned a National Recognition Award for exemplary engineering achievement in the American Council of Engineering Companies’ (ACEC) 56^th annual Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) for developing a strategy to mitigate the threat of landslides at the Upper Peninsula Power Company’s Victoria Hydroelectric Project in Rockland, Mich. 

When a 2016 landslide came dangerously close to the hydroelectric dam’s powerhouse and destroyed a public river-access staircase, preventing a recurrence was critical. Another landslide could disrupt power generation for more than 50,000 Upper Peninsula residents. Barr Engineering’s investigation showed that seasonally elevated groundwater was the primary risk factor for destabilizing hillside soil. The solution was a unique radial array of 32 drains drilled upward into the slope from the base. The drains draw groundwater away from the slope’s surface to collection pipes that discharge into a tailrace channel. 

This solution is less environmentally invasive than conventional slope stabilization options; preserves protected-wildlife habitat; conforms with the site’s steep, space-constrained setting; and is easy to monitor and maintain. Over the past three years, monitoring equipment confirms a significant lowering of the slope’s water table, substantially reducing landslide risk and protecting power-generation operations, river water quality, and public safety. 

The project is among 179 EEA entries this year representing engineering excellence from throughout the nation and the world. Judging for the awards program—known industry-wide as the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry”– took place in March and was conducted by a national 27-member panel of built environment leaders, along with experts from government, the media, and academia. Award criteria focused on uniqueness and originality, technical innovation, social and economic value, and generating excitement for the engineering profession. 

Recognition of all this year’s award winners, including top winners—16 Honor Awards, 8 Grand Awards, and the prestigious “Grand Conceptor Award” for the year’s most outstanding overall engineering achievement—will take place at the annual EEA Gala Dinner and Awards Program, a black-tie event to be held Tuesday, June 13, 2023, at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, D.C. 

The American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) is the business association of America’s engineering industry, representing more than 5,200 independent engineering firms and more than 600,000 professionals throughout the United States engaged in the development of America’s transportation, water, and energy infrastructure, along with environmental, industrial and other public and private facilities. Founded in 1906 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACEC is a national federation of 52 state and regional organizations. 

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About Barr Barr Engineering Co. is an employee-owned engineering and environmental consulting firm incorporated in 1966. Barr solves complex challenges and delivers comprehensive solutions in mining, fuels, power, the public sector, and manufacturing. Barr’s nearly 900 employees serve clients across North America and worldwide from offices in Minneapolis, Duluth, and Hibbing, Minnesota; Calgary, Alberta; Denver, Colorado; Ann Arbor and Grand Rapids, Michigan; Jefferson City, Missouri; Bismarck, North Dakota; and Salt Lake City, Utah; and from satellite offices in Reno, Nevada; Rock Springs, Wyoming; Saskatoon, Saskatchewan; and Fort McMurray, Alberta.