Award of Excellence
CEA Showcase Awards 2026
Small Firm - Big Impact

Project Description

The Frog Lake Cree Nation Raw Water Intake provides a reliable source of water to sustain the Nation’s growth and prosperity. The intake was a major undertaking and the highest-risk component of the overall water system project. The intake extends 1.1 km from shore to achieve depths to manage the 50-year low lake water levels estimated by climate change simulations.

Assessment and planning of the raw water intake took place between 2019 to 2021, followed by in-lake geotechnical drilling and detailed design in 2022, and pre-construction in 2023. Construction of the new intake and intake pipeline commenced in November 2024 and was completed in March 2025. The raw water intake is one major component of the overall water system upgrades for Frog Lake Cree Nation constructed from 2024 to 2027.

The project team for the raw water intake planning, design, and construction included: Frog Lake Cree Nation (Owner), Indigenous Services Canada (Funding), M2 Engineering (Prime Consultant), Sage Developments (Owner’s Advisory), JV Driver & Hillcore (Owner’s Project Management), Precision Contracting (Ice Platform Contractor), Chandos Construction (General Contractor and Construction Manager), and M2 Engineering’s team of subconsultants. The subconsultant team included: Bluefox Engineering (HDD Specialist), NHC (Water Resources Specialist), Hutchinson Environmental (Environmental Scientist), Enviro-Mak (Environmental Consultant), Pals Geomatics (Survey), and Thurber Engineering (Geotechnical).

The project received an Award of Excellence at the Consulting Engineers of Alberta Showcase Awards in 2026.