Environmental Engineers: Saskatchewan’s ecological guardians

Most people think of an engineer as someone wearing a hard-hat overseeing the construction of a building or a bridge – in other words, a civil engineer. But there are many other branches of engineering covering the whole gamut of human and economic activity. One important branch in Saskatchewan is environmental engineering.

Environmental engineers use scientific and engineering principles to protect the environment and to protect people from negative environmental effects. They help prevent pollution and improve environmental quality both locally and globally. Their work also benefits public health and environmental sustainability.

FROM START TO FINISH

Environmental engineers are an integral part of Saskatchewan’s resource economy at every stage. No resource project of any kind – oil well, potash mine, uranium mine – can proceed until it has cleared an environmental impact study, prepared by a team of experts including environmental engineers working for the company and reviewed by those working for government regulators. As well, most infrastructure and other major construction projects are subject to the same stringent review.

Environmental engineers help ensure the company’s compliance to environmental standards throughout the operation of the well or mine. When a well or mine is shut down, environmental engineers map out the process of remediation, bringing the land as close as possible back to its original condition.

WIDE SCOPE

Environmental engineers deal with environmental issues associated with water resources, air pollution, transportation, industrial development and waste management, to name a few.

WATER MANAGEMENT

One of the most common words used to describe Saskatchewan is “dry”. Consequently, one of the most important roles for environmental engineers in the province is managing our precious water resources.

This responsibility has become even more challenging with the growth of solution potash mining and oil “fracking ” methods. Both of these resource extraction techniques use large quantities of water as part of their processes.

Every resource-oriented water use proposal is reviewed by the province’s Water Security Agency to ensure that it does not threaten drinking water, recreational uses, agriculture, plants and animals or any other water use.

FIXING PROBLEMS BEFORE AND AFTER

No technology is perfect and we are all aware of times when pipelines or other resource projects have had breaches that have affected the surrounding landscape. Environmental engineers have sophisticated techniques for cleaning up spills and other damages to return the area as close as possible to its original state.

In these and numerous other ways, environmental engineers work with other science professionals to protect Saskatchewan’s ecological infrastructure.