Sarnia Products Pipeline
Sarnia Products Pipeline
Waterdown to Finch Project
Did you know?
Pipelines are located within land known as the pipeline right-of-way. This is a zone that allows our employees and contractors to access surface lands for construction, operation and maintenance of the pipeline.
Waterdown to Finch Project Overview
Imperial’s Sarnia Products Pipeline has been operating safely for many years. The Waterdown to Finch Project is a proactive measure to ensure continued safe and reliable fuels supply by replacing 63-kilometres of the pipeline, from our Waterdown pump station in rural Hamilton to our storage facility in Toronto’s North York area.
Interactive map
For more information on the location of the Project and construction impacts in your community, please visit our interactive map by clicking the link below or hovering over the map image to the right to reveal the link in the caption.
Click to visit our interactive map
What we're doing
Imperial is committed to ensuring the safety and reliability of the Sarnia Products Pipeline throughout the construction period of the Waterdown to Finch Project. The existing pipeline will continue to operate reliably until the Waterdown to Finch Project is complete.
Replacement
Replacing the existing 12-inch pipeline with a new 12-inch pipeline.
Safe deactivation
Safely taking the existing line out of service and continuing to monitor it in place.
Environmental protection
Working closely with regulatory agencies and complying with all environmental requirements.
Did you know?
Imperial reliably supplies the province with fuel products from our refineries in Sarnia and Nanticoke. These are delivered to customers through outlets, including Esso and Mobil-branded gas stations, and many additional service stations under other brands.
Our refineries and delivery infrastructure also provide a significant portion of jet fuel for Toronto Pearson International Airport, which is Canada's busiest airport and a global hub for transportation.
Project timeline
With the required approvals and permits in place, construction activities began in December 2020 on the western end of the Project, beginning with the first 11 kilometres located in Hamilton and Burlington. The Project will generally progress from west to east with the new line in service by Winter 2022.
Project timeline
Current status
In May 2021, Imperial commenced construction activities in the Halton Region and City of Mississauga while completing the majority of work along the first 11 kilometers of the Project footprint in the Hamilton-Burlington areas. Upon progressing several remaining permitting requirements, Imperial will begin construction activities in the City of Toronto in July 2021, with expected full Project completion by winter 2022.
Imperial and the construction contractor will continue to seek opportunities to work with local and Indigenous contractors and business services throughout the life of the Project.
To protect all our stakeholders including employees, contractors and the general public, Imperial follows all relevant public health measures and COVID-19 workplace guidelines along the entire Project footprint.
Commitment to our local communities...
Direct Community Investment program
As part of our commitment to working with and empowering local communities, Imperial has been managing a dedicated Direct Community Investment (DCI) program within all of the Project’s right-of-way (ROW) communities since 2018.
The DCI program is designed to support capacity building and training, education and STEM development, environmental stewardship, events, and other local community activities. Imperial is proud to work directly with our local partners to build and promote strong sustainable communities.
For more information on community initiatives and programs that our DCI program has sponsored, please visit the community pages on our Interactive Map site. If you know of a local community organization that could benefit from our DCI program, please reach out to our Project team via questions@imperialon.ca.
Minimizing construction impacts
Imperial has been working closely with the regulator and different levels of government to minimize construction impacts throughout the duration of the Waterdown to Finch Project. Imperial will respect all landowners’ property and will seek to minimize disruptions during construction. Most replacement work will take place in close vicinity to the pipeline.
Construction Methods
Imperial builds safety and integrity into its pipelines from the outset of construction. Our pipeline projects have rigorous material, design and construction standards that comply with or exceed all applicable government and industry standards. During the Waterdown to Finch Project, Imperial will use two construction techniques: open-cut construction and horizontal directional drilling (HDD).
Horizontal directional drilling
Open cut construction
Open cut construction is the fastest method for pipeline installation.
- Lay and bend the pipe to match the contours of the land
- Weld, test and inspect the pipe
- Lower pipe into the trench and cover it for protection
Trenchless construction
Horizontal directional drilling (HDD) is a method of installing underground pipe using a drilling rig at the surface level.
- Drill along a designed directional path
- Enlarge the pilot hole to fit the pipeline
- Pull the pipeline back through the hole
Where will we deploy trenchless construction?
Imperial will deploy trenchless construction known as HDD to minimize impacts to sensitive or congested areas like water bodies, significant wetlands, highways and sensitive archaeological or cultural heritage sites.
Environmental protection
While working to deliver the fuels and energy Canadians rely on, we aim to minimize our impact on the environment and local communities by routing pipelines around sensitive areas and adopting construction practices that decrease disruptions. This includes protecting archeological and heritage resources.
We remain committed to protecting our local environment and ensuring the highest standards of environmental safety are observed every day. Where feasible, construction for the Waterdown to Finch Project has been designed to avoid direct impacts on sensitive environmental areas, including major watercourses and provincially significant wetlands.
While some tree removal is required to accommodate safe construction activities, our proactive mitigation measures combined with the Project being largely within an existing easement and hydro corridor, we do not anticipate extensive tree removal. Our goal is to restore these areas to as close to pre-construction condition as possible and to minimize the pipeline’s impact to the surrounding area. A reclamation plan will address revegetation after construction is completed. Trees will be replanted under the municipal by-law requirements or when it is requested by the impacted landowner. Imperial is working closely with Project right-of-way municipalities and affected landowners to establish the requirements and prepare tree planting plans, where applicable.
Deactivating existing pipeline
Safely deactivating the current pipeline, which will cause the least disturbance to the local environment and minimize our construction footprint. To learn about the pipeline deactivation process, watch our video below.
Further detail about the construction methods and our approach to protecting the environment can be found in the Waterdown to Finch Project brochure or in our information session poster boards.
Learn about the pipeline deactivation processFocused on safety
Focused on safety
Imperial’s safety performance is among the best in the Canadian energy industry. We attribute our record of safe and reliable operations to our preventative maintenance and proactive pipeline inspection programs. Learn how Imperial prepares for continued safe pipeline operations.
To protect all of our stakeholders including employees, contractors and the general public, Imperial will follow all relevant public health measures and COVID-19 workplace guidelines along the entire Project footprint.
Ensuring safety in the communities we serve
Our safety, monitoring, and preventative maintenance measures include:
Our commitment to community engagement
Indigenous collaboration
We are engaging Indigenous field monitors on archaeological assessments and environmental field surveys to support the preservation of known archaeological and cultural heritage resources.
Our commitment to community engagement
Working with the local community
Imperial is committed to meaningful community engagement thought the construction period. We will continue to work with local community members to help inform solutions to minimize the impact of any disruptions.
Interactive map
Click below to view the location of the Project in your community
Information
Public information sessions in communities along the Project footprint.
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