Keyano College reopens buildings at Clearwater Campus following spring flood

Posted On Friday August 21, 2020

Keyano College is pleased to announce that it has begun the process of re-entering its buildings after extensive work to restore damages caused by the spring flooding in Fort McMurray. 

The College was heavily impacted by the event, which caused approximately $48 million in damages. Four of the buildings at Clearwater Campus suffered various degrees of damage and all student housing was impacted. Floodwaters also affected the Utility Tunnel at the main campus that supplies electrical and HVAC services. Syncrude Sports and Wellness Centre (SSWC), Oilsands Power and Processing Engineering Lab (OPPEL), and Bob Lamb Buildings all received extensive flood damage. Student housing in Clearwater Hall (Purple Palace) received minimal damage but lost power and HVAC due to the flooding of the utility tunnel. Penhorwood and Riedel student housing complexes were also affected by the flooding and require remediation prior to allowing tenants to return.

In our initial meeting with the insurance company representatives, a target date of August 15 was agreed to for the completion of the bulk of the restoration work. This date was selected because it would allow enough time for the College to take necessary steps to prepare for the start of the Fall Semester. Keyano is pleased that the project was substantially completed on time. College IT and Facilities staff have been restoring services at the Clearwater Campus and managers were granted access to the buildings on August 17 to allow them time to develop re-entry plans for their teams. 

“The success of this project would not have been possible without the teamwork and dedication displayed by the College’s partners,” said Tracy Boyde, Vice President, Infrastructure and CIO. “The Insurance and restoration companies, and various subcontractors, worked together to deliver the project on time. Although some work is still ongoing to deal with some deficiencies, those will not impact College operations.”

OPPEL, SSWC, and Clearwater Campus opens to college staff on August 24. Student housing at Penhorwood and Clearwater Hall are currently being cleaned and minor non-flood related repairs are being completed. Student housing will be open at the end of August.

Keyano continues to work with its insurance providers on restoring the Bob Lamb Building and Riedel Housing. The work at Riedel is expected to be completed by the end of October, while the completion of the work on the Bob Lamb building is not yet determined. 

Our fall online program delivery is on schedule and SSWC recreation facility will be open to the public by mid-September.

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