Meet PICA at NASTT No-Dig North 2026 in Calgary, November 2-4

The NASTT No-Dig North Conference and Exhibition comes to Alberta this fall, and PICA will be there. From November 2 to 4, 2026, the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre hosts Canada’s largest trenchless technology conference. Our inspection team is making the short trip down from Edmonton to sit in the technical sessions, walk the exhibit floor, and meet with the utilities, consultants, and contractors planning trenchless work across Western Canada. No booth this year and no presentation slot. Just three days of conversations about pipeline condition assessment and how good inspection data changes the economics of a trenchless project. If you want one of those conversations, this page tells you how to set it up.

PICA at No-Dig North 2026: Attending, Not Exhibiting

No-Dig North 2026 continues PICA’s long run at NASTT conferences. Our team exhibited at the NASTT 2025 No-Dig Show in Denver (March 30 to April 3, 2025) and at the NASTT 2024 No-Dig Show in Providence, Rhode Island (April 14 to 18, 2024), the largest trenchless technology conference in the world. We were also on the floor at No-Dig North 2024 in Niagara Falls.

Calgary is a different kind of trip for us. Without a booth to staff, the whole team is free to attend sessions, ask questions, and spend real time with the people we usually only get five minutes with across a table. If you have ever wanted to talk through a pipeline problem with a PICA analyst without a trade show crowd pressing in behind you, this is the year to do it.

What Is No-Dig North?

No-Dig North is the annual Canadian conference of the North American Society for Trenchless Technology (NASTT). The 2026 edition runs Monday, November 2 through Wednesday, November 4 at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre in downtown Calgary. Full event details and registration are on the official NASTT No-Dig North page.

The format follows a pattern regulars will recognize. Day one is dedicated to NASTT’s Good Practices Courses, structured training on trenchless methods taught by industry instructors. Days two and three bring the technical program, with peer-reviewed papers across multiple tracks, plus the exhibit hall and networking events. The winners of the 2026 Canadian Project of the Year Award will also be announced in Calgary.

For municipal utilities in Western Canada, this is the best place all year to compare rehabilitation methods side by side, meet the contractors who install them, and see where the trenchless market is heading before the next budget cycle locks in.

Why an Inspection Company Goes to a Trenchless Conference

Every liner, pipe burst, and sliplining project starts with the same question: what condition is this pipeline actually in? Answer it wrong and the consequences run in both directions. Rehabilitate pipe that still had decades of life left and you have spent money you did not need to spend. Skip a segment that was quietly corroding from the outside and the new liner fails with the host pipe. We covered the spending logic in detail in Inspect Before You Replace: The Smarter Spend Strategy, and the short version is one of our standing principles: save money with targeted repairs versus full replacement.

That is why an inspection company belongs at a trenchless conference. Condition data is the input every trenchless design decision depends on. PICA’s tools measure it directly, across pipe diameters from 2 inches to 136 inches depending on the method. Remote Field Testing (RFT) measures remaining wall thickness through liners, scale, and deposits on metallic and concrete pressure pipe. Near Field Testing (NFT) detects and quantifies broken prestressing wires in concrete pressure pipe. The Navigator acoustic sphere screens live, pressurized pipelines for leaks and gas pockets without taking them out of service. Which tool fits which pipeline is exactly the kind of conversation a conference is for.

What We Want to Talk About in Calgary

Three topics will follow us around the convention centre, because they follow every utility in Western Canada.

Concrete pressure pipe transmission mains. PCCP and bar-wrapped pipe carry the highest consequences of failure in most water systems. PCCP condition assessment before rehabilitation tells owners which segments have broken wires, cylinder wall loss, or loss of pre-load, and which are fine. Our TRWD case study shows what that looks like on a real transmission system.

Cast iron and ductile iron water mains. Most Canadian distribution systems still run on them, and graphitic corrosion does not announce itself. For 6-inch and 8-inch mains, our HydraSnake tool enters through a fire hydrant and measures remaining wall thickness along the entire main with no excavation. Larger mains are covered by our broader water main inspection services.

Wastewater force mains. A force main failure is a spill, a cleanup, and a headline all at once, and these lines are notoriously hard to take out of service for inspection. We wrote about the operational puzzle in Challenging Force Main Pipeline Inspections, and we would rather solve it with a utility before the failure than after.

There is also the home advantage. PICA has been based in Edmonton since 2008, and our Alberta pipeline inspection crews mobilize to Calgary, Red Deer, Lethbridge, and everywhere between without crossing a border or a time zone. For Alberta utilities, a conversation at No-Dig North can turn into a scheduled inspection faster than you might expect.

How to Meet PICA at No-Dig North 2026

We will not be behind a booth, which makes us easy to miss and easy to meet. The reliable way is to book ahead: email [email protected] with “No-Dig North” in the subject line, or call 1-800-661-0127, and we will set a time and place at the convention centre. Bring a pipeline problem, an old inspection report you want a second opinion on, or a rehabilitation plan you want to pressure-test against real condition data. If you prefer to leave it to chance, watch for the PICA jackets in the technical sessions. You can read more about who we are on our about PICA page before the show.

Frequently Asked Questions

When and where is NASTT No-Dig North 2026?

NASTT No-Dig North 2026 runs Monday, November 2 through Wednesday, November 4, 2026 at the Calgary TELUS Convention Centre, 120 9th Avenue SE in downtown Calgary, Alberta. Day one is dedicated to NASTT’s Good Practices Courses. The technical sessions, exhibit hall, and networking events run on days two and three.

Does PICA have a booth at No-Dig North 2026?

No. PICA is attending rather than exhibiting this year. The team will be in the technical sessions and on the exhibit floor all three days, and is booking one-on-one meetings in advance. To arrange a meeting during the conference, email [email protected] with No-Dig North in the subject line or call 1-800-661-0127.

How do you register for No-Dig North 2026?

Registration is handled by NASTT through the official No-Dig North page at nastt.org. Conference registration covers the technical program and exhibit hall on November 3 and 4. The Good Practices Courses on November 2 are separate training sessions, so check the NASTT site for how they are packaged with conference registration.

What is the difference between the No-Dig Show and No-Dig North?

The No-Dig Show is NASTT’s flagship North American conference, held in the United States each spring; the 2026 edition took place in Palm Springs, California. No-Dig North is the Canadian conference, held each fall in a rotating Canadian city. It came to Niagara Falls in 2024 and arrives in Calgary for 2026. Both events combine peer-reviewed technical papers, training courses, and a trenchless exhibit hall.

Who should attend No-Dig North?

Municipal utility engineers and asset managers, consulting engineers, trenchless contractors, and anyone who owns or operates buried pipe infrastructure. The technical program covers rehabilitation and new installation methods for water, wastewater, and energy pipelines, and the Good Practices Courses are a fast way for newer staff to get grounded in trenchless fundamentals.

Why does pipeline condition assessment matter for trenchless projects?

Because the rehabilitation method, and how much of the pipeline actually needs it, both depend on the pipe’s real condition. Wall thickness and wire-break data let designers rehabilitate only the segments that need work instead of lining or replacing entire runs. Inspection typically costs 10 to 50 times less than an unplanned failure on the same segment, which is why condition assessment belongs at the front of any trenchless program.

How can I book a meeting with PICA during the conference?

Email [email protected] with No-Dig North in the subject line, or call 1-800-661-0127, and PICA will set a time and place at the convention centre. Booking ahead is recommended since the team’s schedule fills up during the show. PICA analysts can also review an existing inspection report or discuss a specific pipeline problem on the spot.