ACEC to Honor HDR at Annual Ceremony

The American Council of Engineering Companies will recognize 25 HDR projects with national awards. The projects represent a wide range of disciplines and regions across the United States.

Grand Award

HDR’s Native Salmonid Conservation Facility will receive a Grand Award at ACEC’s 58th Engineering Excellence Awards Gala May 20 in Washington, D.C. A panel of nearly 30 judges selected the year’s most outstanding engineering accomplishments from nearly 200 entries, in what’s known as the Academy Awards of the engineering industry.

Since 1967, the 340-foot-tall Boundary Dam has provided Seattle City Light (SCL) with 1,117 megawatts of electricity. In 2009, as part of the dam’s Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) license renewal, SCL agreed to review related impacts to threatened and endangered species.

Located amid the serene, forested landscape of Usk, Washington, the $27 million Native Salmonid Conservation Facility is SCL’s latest effort to protect and establish self-sustaining, naturally producing, threatened Westslope cutthroat trout (WCT) in the Pend Oreille River watershed. The advanced facility captures fish from the basin’s tributaries, spawns them and returns the progeny to the natal streams as eyed eggs, unfed fry, and fingerlings. Prior to reintroduction, non-native species that suppress WCT populations are eradicated. The facility preserves each population’s genetic traits, using different holding containers to segregate fish based on their geographic origins within the basin.

More than just breeding fish, the new facility rescues trout from local streams — nurturing them with advanced aquaculture techniques, bringing propagated wild trout of various sizes back to their native environments and increasing their chance of survival. With their historic numbers plummeting 90% in the West, these fish are an indicator of watershed health and were almost added to the endangered species list. Eventually, the hatchery will also raise the endangered, native bull trout or mountain whitefish.

The project team overcame significant challenges including replacing a small dam; proving the site’s domestic water supply would not impact Skookum Creek; shallow groundwater that required constant pumping to construct structure foundations; a remote and undeveloped location; and severe weather conditions. In addition to significant underground utility work, the project included construction of eight facilities, and three residences for staff.

Partnerships complement the cutting-edge conservation efforts. The facility represents significant collaboration among SCL, the Kalispel Tribe, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Pend Oreille Public Utility District, and other partners.

2 HDR Projects Won Honor Awards

• Mayo Clinic Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Building, Rochester, Minnesota
• TPF-5(372) Building Information Modeling for Bridges and Structures, Statewide, Iowa

22 HDR Projects Won National Recognition Awards

• Abbott Northwestern Hospital Central Utility Plant, Minneapolis, Minnesota
• Big Sky Resort’s Lone Peak Tram Power Line, Big Sky, Montana
• Fremont Wastewater Treatment Plant Improvements and Expansion, Fremont, Nebraska
• Fry Creek Pump Station, Aberdeen, Washington
• I-15 Virgin River Bridge No. 1, Littlefield, Arizona
• I-64 Improvement - Kanawha River Bridge, Putnam County, West Virginia
• I-75 at Colonial Boulevard Design-Build, Fort Myers, Florida
• I-90 Yellowstone River Bridges, Billings, Montana
• Illinois Department of Transportation Pump Station No. 4 Reconstruction, Forest Park, Illinois
• Kiewit Luminarium, Omaha, Nebraska
• Marion Street Pedestrian Bridge, Seattle, Washington
• Metropolitan Transportation Authority 2025-2044 20-Year Needs Assessment, New York, New York
• Mirror Pond Boardwalk, Bend, Oregon
• Nelson Dam Removal, Yakima, Washington
• Papillion Creek WRRF Biosolids and Energy Improvements, Bellevue, Nebraska
• Pittsburgh Building on the East Busway, Wilkinsburg, Pennsylvania
• Richwood Intersections, Richwood, Kentucky
• SIRWA’s New Water Treatment Plant Design, Creston, Iowa
• Southern Sarpy Wastewater System, Sarpy County, Nebraska
• Tomahawk Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility Improvements, Leawood, Kansas
• Worcester Union Station, Worcester, Massachusetts
• Yerba Buena Island/I-80 Southgate Road and Interchange Project, San Francisco, California

About HDR
HDR is a 100% employee-owned professional services firm. Founded over a century ago to bring electricity to a changing world, we are now a global company specializing in architecture, engineering, environmental and construction services. Our success in built and natural environments continues as we collaborate to solve our clients’ and communities’ most complex challenges.