Water Infrastructure

Decentralized Water Collection Systems

Capture & utilize variable water sources without constraining downstream infrastructure

Remote and independently serviced developments can lose reuse opportunities and overload downstream infrastructure when water sources are combined without a clear collection strategy. Our decentralized water collection design defines how rainwater, greywater, wastewater, surface water, and groundwater are captured and directed within one coordinated site water system. Our integrated services help asset development and engineering teams overcome the following challenges:

Water quantity, quality, and variability are not sufficiently defined to determine which sources should be combined, segregated, or managed locally.
Site layouts advance without coordinating collection zones, gravity routes, pumping requirements, and protected infrastructure corridors.
Interfaces with storage, treatment, reuse, and discharge lack clear hydraulic and water-quality acceptance limits.
Wet weather, equipment failure, and upset conditions are not translated into practical diversion, containment, or operating requirements.

Coordinate distributed sources through one site-wide water strategy

Collection networks underperform when each source is planned independently. We establish a common basis for source behaviour and intended destination so collection zones, routing, segregation, storage, and control requirements can be resolved before site layouts and downstream capacities are fixed.

Our integrated performance approach connects water resources, civil infrastructure, treatment, controls, and operations from early planning through commissioning. This allows local collection systems to serve remote developments while remaining aligned with the wider water balance, treatment strategy, and opportunities for use or reuse.

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Service outcomes

Create controlled pathways from source to destination

Coordinated collection design allows each water source to follow an appropriate management pathway without transferring unnecessary loading or uncertainty into the wider site system.

Preserve higher-value water streams

Keep water sources separate where mixing would eliminate reuse opportunities or increase treatment requirements.

Control downstream loading

Manage variable and peak inflows before they determine the capacity of shared storage or treatment infrastructure.

Maintain collection continuity

Manage variable inflows locally so short-duration events do not unnecessarily govern the capacity of shared storage or treatment infrastructure.

Support staged development

Utilize and augment original network buildings, and operating areas wherever possible.

integrated expertise

Aligning collection decisions across development and operations teams

Decentralized collection affects site planning, water management, treatment performance, utility requirements, and daily operations. A shared system basis allows each team to work from consistent assumptions about what must be collected, where it can be directed, and how changing conditions will be managed.

Source characterization establishes the quantity, quality, seasonality, and regulatory status of water entering the collection network. This includes rainfall and runoff, groundwater, greywater, wastewater, and other site-specific sources.

Coordinating these inputs supports an accurate site water balance and identifies where segregation, containment, reuse, or monitoring creates a meaningful system benefit. It also prevents uncertain flows from being absorbed into broad design allowances that unnecessarily increase downstream infrastructure.

Topography, building locations, road layouts, and development phasing determine how water can be collected and whether gravity conveyance or pumping is required. These decisions must be coordinated with the capacity and acceptance limits of storage and treatment infrastructure.

Early alignment protects collection corridors and identifies which streams can be combined without compromising reuse or treatment performance. It also avoids site decisions that create excessive pumping, deep excavation, or repeated disruption to completed areas.

Distributed collection systems require clear monitoring points, diversion triggers, alarm responses, and containment provisions. Pumping and control requirements must account for power reliability, available operator response, and the practical availability of technical support.

Defining this operating logic during design allows abnormal conditions to be managed through established pathways rather than improvised procedures. Access, isolation, emergency storage, and maintenance requirements can then be tested before the network enters service.

sustained performance

Anticipating adaptable collection strategies as water sources and site uses change

Water sources rarely remain static across the life of a remote development. New buildings, changing occupancy, revised operating areas, water scarcity, and evolving reuse requirements can alter how water should be captured and managed.

Our approach establishes accessible connection points, targeted capacity allowances, and clear source acceptance limits. This allows collection zones to be expanded, reclassified, or redirected as site conditions change without destabilizing existing treatment, storage, or reuse infrastructure.

Site Monitoring Water Facility Operations Closure & Reclamation

Freshwater Reservoir Design & Construction Management

Stormwater Management Infrastructure Engineering Design

Water Management Infrastructure Engineering and Project Development Services

Freshwater Storage Reservoir Inspection & Change Detection Analysis

Mining Water Infrastructure Development and Equipment

228,500 m³ Lined Freshwater Reservoir Design and Construction Management

Integrated Sustainability designed and managed construction of a 228,500 m³ freshwater reservoir, integrating geotechnical investigation, water management, quality control, and on-site delivery.

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3,000,000 m³ Freshwater Storage Feasibility Evaluation

Integrated Sustainability evaluated four municipal freshwater storage reservoirs up to 3,000,000 m³, covering site selection, conceptual design, dam classification, flood studies, and hydropower potential.

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Raw Water Reservoir Safety Assessment for a Municipality in British Columbia

Integrated Sustainability completed a Dam Consequence of Failure Classification for a proposed raw water reservoir, assessing downstream impacts to people, infrastructure, and environmental and cultural values.

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153,600 m3 Freshwater Reservoir Construction Support

Integrated Sustainability supported construction of a 153,600 m³ unlined freshwater reservoir, integrating geotechnical design, dam safety classification, and commissioning documentation.

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Embankment Stability and Liner Integrity Assessment Using Drone Based Topographic Survey

Integrated Sustainability assessed a freshwater reservoir using visual inspection and drone-based change detection to evaluate embankment stability, liner integrity, and structural condition.

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Tailings Facility Reclamation & Passive Closure with 61,000 m³ Dewatered

Integrated Sustainability delivered turnkey closure construction for a mine tailings facility, dewatering 61,000 m³ and completing backfill, cover placement, spillway construction, and toe berm expansion.

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Collection systems move water from distributed sources toward a managed destination such as storage, treatment, reuse, or discharge. Distribution systems move treated or otherwise fit-for-purpose water from supply and storage infrastructure toward buildings, equipment, irrigation, or other points of use. The two systems often form opposite sides of the same local water cycle. They should be coordinated so collected water can be treated and redistributed where reuse is technically and operationally practical.

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The decision considers water quality, intended use, regulatory classification, treatment requirements, flow variability, and the consequence of mixing. Separation may preserve a higher-quality source for direct reuse or prevent a concentrated stream from increasing the treatment requirements for the entire system. Segregation also creates additional infrastructure and operating obligations. Streams should therefore remain separate only where doing so improves treatment efficiency, operating control, compliance, or reuse potential.

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A single collection hub can suit compact developments where water streams are compatible and conveyance to one location is practical. Multiple local zones may be more effective across dispersed or phased sites, where elevation changes, source quality, or long conveyance distances make one network difficult to operate or expand. The decision should consider treatment strategy, pumping dependence, resilience, operator capacity, and future development—not only initial construction cost. Hybrid systems often provide the best balance, using local capture, storage, or pretreatment before selected streams are transferred to shared treatment or reuse infrastructure.

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Peak flows should be assessed according to their magnitude, duration, frequency, and source rather than applied uniformly to the entire system. Short-duration events may be managed through source separation, local buffering, controlled diversion, equalization, or staged transfer. This allows permanent treatment capacity to reflect credible sustained loading rather than every temporary collection peak. The selected pathway must still provide sufficient containment and response time when downstream infrastructure cannot immediately accept the flow.

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Continuity begins by reducing avoidable dependence on powered equipment through gravity conveyance and passive storage where site conditions permit. Where pumping is required, the design may incorporate standby capacity, backup power, high-level storage, remote alarms, and access for temporary pumping. The required provisions depend on flow volume, available response time, environmental consequence, and the availability of replacement equipment or specialist support. The system should define how long the site can operate and where water will be contained until normal service is restored.

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Combine deep technical expertise with execution and operational experience

Complex and high-consequence industrial projects require a practical mindset to enable agile development and positive environmental outcomes.

Our vertically integrated water services platform combines science, engineering, equipment fabrication, and operations to provide fit-for-purpose assets that drive accountability and performance.

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