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Biostructural engineering and fish habitat

Our team has carried out a number of riverbank stabilization projects since 2008, as much on private properties as for municipalities and ministries. These projects have generally included carrying out preliminary studies (hydraulics and geotechnical), producing designs and estimates, as well as drafting the requests for authorization permits and the follow-up required to obtain them.

 

Our team has also been contracted to handle the monitoring and supervision of the work sites in order to assure quality, sustainability, and environmental pertinence of the work.                          

 

We use primarily biostructural engineering (branch rolls, plant and seedling beds, branch mats, vegetated caissons, etc.) and mixed techniques (weirs, groynes, rip rap, etc.) to respect the river's natural hydromorphology and to recreate viable habitats and spawyning zones of aquatic and terrestrial wildlife.

Management of runoff and sediments



In managing runoff our services range from sizing culverts to installing and optimizing stormwater systems to sedimantation basins  for municipalities, industry, and urban development.

 

We are equally able to conduct environmental assessments of farms to assist producers in the development of a managament plan for water runoff and erosion control via simple and non-intrusive measures.                                          

 

Our team is constantly on the lookout for advanced phytotechnologies and keeps abreast of changes in regulations regarding management of stormwater. We develop solutions that are integrated, lasting, cost effective, and respectful of the environment. 




Complimentary services

 

  • Surveying

  • Piezometric surveying

  • Water and soil sampling

  • Site supervision

  • Execution of biostructural engineering projects

  • Environmental assessment

  • Monitoring of dikes and earthen dams

  • Sediment and contaminant management

  • Erosion management

  • Surface water runoff assessment

  • Fish habitat assessment

  • Rural engineering

  • Road runoff management


 

For new buildings, landscaping, or urban planning, we can provide engineering designs for foundations and retaining walls.

Comprehensive report on the design of the St-Jacques wetland and its environment (2012)

Client : Quebec Ministry of Wildlife and Natural Resources

            (MRNF)

Our team put together a literature review and site survey to complete a comprehensive report on the St-Jacques wetland and its environment. Following this first step we advised and gave recommendations and improvements to be carried out to address the issues raised. An extensive document of recommendations and their justifications was furnished to the client.

Stabilization and rehabilitation of a bank of the Richelieu river (2011)

Client : Private

Solutions: Reduced slope, wattle fence, branches for resprouting, drainage ditch with cedar log weirs.

 

Following the identification of the type soil present on the site and the causes of erosion to this specific tributary, solutions adapted to the particular condtitions were proposed. These solutions combined a number of steps: reduction of the slope of the bank, laying down the wattle fence (made of Salice interior) at the base of the slope and at the high water mark, laying down the layers of willow branches, installing the drainage ditch and cedar weirs, seeding and planting native grasses and bushes etc. The result of which is now a young, but ecologically healthy and robust stretch of bank along an otherwise mostly unnatural river. 

Water management and stabilisation of riverbanks in an agricultural setting (ongoing since 2009)

Clients : Cranberry producer, MAPAQ, UPA, CSCME, BPH

Solutions : Modeling and water management plan, earthen dam with a clay core, rip rap spillways, culverts, riverbank stabilization using biostructural techniques, groynes, etc.

 

Our experts were called in  to intervene in an agricultural area in 2009. While at first tasked only with stabilization of the riverbanks and their restoration, XMN has since diversified its expertise to bring the farmers more sustainable solutions for managing water on site. These include optimisation of drainage and irrigation systems, treatment of mud and effluents from cranberry production, energy use optimisation, dikes, retention ponds, culverts, pumps, etc. 

 

 

 

Client : Aubier Environnement inc.

Solutions : Vegetated caisson and bed of plants and seedlings.

 

 

The project was carried out in partnership with Aubier Environnement inc. The site, located on a stream in the Laurentians, showed serious signs of erosion due to  the force of the water and exarcerbated by a steep slope. The solution of a vegetaed caisson, seldom used in Quebec, was chosen for its asthetic, environmental, and structural qualities. Our team drafted the plans and supervised the site.   

Biostructural stabilization on a steep slope in the Laurentians (2012)

PDF du projet

Water, environment and agriculture

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