Merrick & Company wins ACEC award for Hartland Dam Fish & Boat Passage Project

GREENWOOD VILLAGE, COLO. — Merrick & Company was selected by the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) to receive one of the Honor Awards in the ACEC Engineering Excellence Awards (EEA) competition — the “Academy Awards of the engineering industry.” The Honor Award is a prestigious distinction for exceptional engineering achievement. Merrick’s Hartland Dam Fish & Boat Passage Facilities project was chosen.

The Hartland Dam Fish & Boat Passage involved design of fish and boat passage enhancements to the Gunnison River at the Hartland Dam near Delta, Colo. The project involved removal of a vertical drop at an existing diversion dam and the design of hydraulic channels to enable fish passage and boat passage. The completed state-of-the-art fish passage facility now allows native Colorado endangered fish the ability to negotiate the diversion dam, thus promoting the recovery of these species. The boat passage channel provides a high performance recreational experience for river enthusiasts and boaters (kayakers and rafters).

Since 1967, ACEC’s annual EEA competition recognizes member firm achievements from throughout the world. Projects that are winners at state level EEA competitions were eligible for ACEC’s national EEA competition. A panel of judges representing industry, government, academia and media rated winning work on the following criteria:
•Uniqueness and innovative applications
•Future value to the engineering profession
•Perception by the public
•Social, economic, & sustainable considerations
•Complexity
•Successful fulfillment of client/owner’s needs

Accepting the award at the gala were Merrick representatives Ralph W. Christie, Jr., P.E., Chairman; Dave Sprenkle, P.E., Senior Vice President/COO; and Richard McLaughlin, P.E., Senior Project Manager, as well as Cary Denison, Gunnison Basin Project Coordinator, with Trout Unlimited.