November 2005 ISSUE
FROM THE BRANCHES
Medicine Hat Municipalities Cooperate on Golf Course
BY SHELDON DATTENBERGER, P.ENG., AND
KENZIE LIEFSO, P.ENG.
Medicine Hat Branch
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Dramatic Vista |
Not unlike other municipal centres in Alberta, Medicine Hat continues a steady if not accelerated rate of growth that goes back several years. With the increasing development of residential and commercial lots comes interest for other development opportunities and technological advancements.
Two key examples are the Links at Desert Blume Championship Golf Course and subdivision development, and a City of Medicine Hat initiative to study the practicality of using geothermal heat transfer for developments.
A significant and exciting development project, the Links at Desert Blume Championship Golf Course and subdivision is located south of the corporate city limits within Cypress County. But it is serviced with city municipal water, sanitary sewer and electricity.
People familiar with the Medicine Hat area have likely heard about Desert Blume, as it was initially promoted as a development back around 1989. It was recognized then that the property had great development potential, thanks in part to its location along the valley of the Seven Persons Creek near the southwest city limits.
The difficulty was servicing the property. The success of the development relied on the opportunity to obtain city water and sewer services. The development, though right next to the city’s border, is not contiguous with other city residential developments.
The city had no interest in leap-frogging to provide services, especially since the development was not even located within its limits. Through perseverance on the part of the developers and promoters of the project, however, the project was approved by both the City of Medicine Hat and Cypress County.
Agreements were arduously negotiated and signed with the respective municipal authorities, while planning and engineering continued in order to develop a golf course and residential subdivision. Considerable environmental approvals were obtained, and a golf course was constructed that respects and complements the natural beauty of the valley.
In the end, Desert Blume is destined to become one of the premier golf layouts in Southern Alberta.
Hot Running, Cool Running
Test drilling is underway to
determine the feasibility of using aquifer thermal energy storage, or ATES, as
a renewable energy alternative for heating and cooling buildings in Medicine
Hat. The City of Medicine Hat will potentially be evaluating two sites, in the
northeast and south central parts of the city. If a suitable location is found,
further testing will take place this winter with preliminary designs for a multi-family
residential pilot project, to be completed by March 2006.
“The aquifer thermal energy storage pilot project has the theoretical potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (non-renewable energy consumption) by over 50 per cent when compared to conventional heating and cooling,” says Mayor Garth Vallely. “One of this council’s main priorities is environmental stewardship and this project addresses one of our key objectives to explore alternative energy opportunities.”
Here’s how ATES works. During the summer, cool water from an aquifer (cold well) beneath the surface is pumped to a building ventilation system for direct cooling. In the process of circulating water through the ventilation system to cool down the air, the water picks up thermal energy. This warm water is then returned to a different location in the aquifer (hot well).
In the winter, the flow is reversed. Warm water is pumped from the hot well and sent through the building’s heating system to pre-heat intake air. In some cases, a heat pump may be added to provide more thermal energy and raise the temperature of the air. In transferring thermal energy to the air, the warm water cools and is returned to the cold well and the cycle repeats itself next year.
“The idea behind ATES is to store energy when it is available and retrieve it when it’s needed to heat or cool buildings, rather than relying solely on a traditional source of energy,” says Russ Smith, manager of environmental management for the City.
The ATES project is jointly funded by the City of Medicine Hat and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Enabling Fund.