Meet Rayna Volden

One of Canada’s shining stars, Program Manager and Jacobs Vice President Rayna Volden has spent her 30-year engineering career delivering innovative solutions to all aspects of civil engineering and environmental challenges across the country.

Rayna has applied her engineering expertise in hydraulics, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, storm and sanitary sewer conveyance, combined sewer overflow abatement and urban stormwater management projects, primarily for municipal clients and conservation authorities.

After an intense and destructive storm in August 2005, the City of Toronto initiated a Basement Flooding Protection Program (BFPP) to reduce future flooding risk. Rayna had already been successfully delivering urban stormwater projects for the City since her involvement with the 2003 Wet Weather Flow Master Plan, so it was logical that she be fully engaged in this billion-dollar, multi-year program to improve the city’s sewer system and overland drainage routes.

A natural leader, Rayna took on various roles during Phases 1 and 2, including modeling lead, design manager, deputy program manager, construction administrator and program manager. Because many of the areas affected were more than 80 years old, there were challenges not only to upgrading the sewers but dealing with all other buried and aerial utilities. Phase 1 started in 2008 with construction completed in 2015. Phase 2 started in 2010, with final construction completed in 2017.

As Program Manager for Phase 4, Rayna leads a team on program-level services such as delivery planning, preliminary designs and management oversight for 12 detailed design and construction administration consultants who are designing and constructing $800 million (C$1 billion) in capital infrastructure.

Phase 4 includes more than 100 assignment solutions such as upgrading storm and sanitary sewers and installing underground tanks, storm pond, offline storage, and in-line storage, all within an urban environment road right-of-way. Supplementary scopes of works include watermain replacements, water service replacements, road resurfacing and reconstruction. Combined Phase 1 and 2 deliverables include more than $160 million (C$200 million) in infrastructure improvements. The first five years of Phase 4 has included $220 million (C$275 million) in infrastructure improvements.