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Lafarge Canada provides sustainable concrete and support for salmon hatchery

World Cement,


Lafarge Canada Inc. has helped the Burrard Inlet Marine Enhancement Society to rebuild the Mossom Creek Hatchery in Port Moody, BC, which was destroyed by a fire in December 2013. The hatchery was established by two high school teachers in 1976 in order to teach children about salmon and the environment. Lafarge Canada employees volunteered on the project and the company helped the hatchery to select the most suitable concrete types for the rebuild. The salmon hatchery will reopen this week.

“The Mossom Creek Hatchery rebuild allowed us to support our three community investment pillars – education, environment and sustainable construction. In addition, our employees were able to provide hands-on help by volunteering during work hours,” said David Redfern, Vice President and General Manager of Lafarge in Vancouver. “The new two-storey, 3200 square feet building was built on a tight construction timeline in order to allow the hatchery to become operational for the 2015 salmon release. In March 2015, some 100 000 chum fry were successfully transferred to the new hatchery’s rearing tanks and then released into area streams in April.”

“Lafarge worked with the hatchery to select the most appropriate materials and solutions to ensure the new building is good looking, is long-lasting and has a low environmental impact. After experiencing the devastation caused by the fire, we were especially keen on concrete’s non-combustibility. Further benefits were derived by choosing specific mixes,” added hatchery co-founder, Ruth Foster.

The following concrete types were selected:

UltraGreen™ concrete

  • Lafarge utilised Portland Limestone Cement, which resulted in approximately 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions as compared to manufacturing regular cement.
  • UltraGreen uses byproducts from other industries such as flyash and blastfurnace slag that would otherwise go to a landfill. This both reduces the overall environmental impact of these byproducts and reduces the overall carbon footprint of cement.
  • To minimise impact on water resources, UltraGreen limits use of fresh water by incorporating reclaimed process water in the production of new concrete.

Hydromedia™ – a fast-draining permeable ready-mix concrete

  • Rainwater can collect sediment and other contaminants. Salmon are sensitive to their surrounding environment and elevated levels of suspended sediment can be harmful to fish. Hydromedia is designed to allow rainwater to drain through the concrete and infiltrate into the soil below. In turn, this minimises heavy rainwater runoff from the surrounding impermeable surfaces. This facilitates the reduction of sediment-laden water reaching Mossom Creek and the preservation of the natural groundwater aquifer.

Adapted from press release by

Read the article online at: https://www.worldcement.com/the-americas/21052015/lafarge-canada-supports-salmon-hatchery-rebuild-879/

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