April 24, 2009

Metro Vancouver awaits response to two planned water infrastructure projects

Richard Gilbert

staff writer

Metro Vancouver has yet to get a response from the federal government about two shovel-ready projects to improve the quality of drinking water in the region with financing from the stimulus program.

“When Metro Vancouver was asked to provide a list of prepared and planned projects to the federal government, we had a very long list,” said Metro Vancouver spokesperson Glenn Bohn.

“But we narrowed the list down and identified the top five infrastructure projects in January.”

Metro Vancouver submitted a list of 160 proposed or planned infrastructure projects, in partnership with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.

The majority, which involved water or wastewater treatment, were already approved as part of Metro Vancouver’s capital projects plan.

The top five priority projects were identified in February after an assessment of the federal budget and the requirement that projects must be started within two years to qualify for funding.

This list included upgrades at the Annacis Island Wastewater Treatment Plant and ultraviolet disinfection for drinking water from the Coquitlam Reservoir.

However, to date, the region has not received any new funding commitments from the federal or provincial government, he said.

The Annacis sewage treatment facility, near the north end of the Alex Fraser Bridge, is the largest plant operated by Metro Vancouver.

It provides secondary treatment to wastewater from approximately 1,000,000 people in parts of Burnaby, New Westminster, Port Moody, Port Coquitlam, Coquitlam, Pitt Meadows, Maple Ridge, Surrey, Delta, White Rock, City of Langley and Township of Langley.

Upgrades and energy efficiency improvements are being included to help protect the Fraser River, which is Canada’s most abundant salmon river.

Also, research and teaching facilities in a Centre of Excellence, adjacent to the sewage treatment plant, would improve wastewater treatment technologies.

Construction of the project will generate 158 person-years of direct employment, while the total estimated cost of the project is $31 million.

The Coquitlam UV Disinfection Project includes construction of a new primary disinfection facility using ultraviolet light (UV) and upgrading the existing ozonation facility to improve the efficiency of UV disinfection for the Coquitlam water supply.

The pre-design of the $110 million project is being undertaken by SSBV Consultants.

During development of the pre-design study, a need for additional building space for administrative, laboratory and maintenance functions was identified.

The project is at the start of the detailed design phase, with completion of the design expected by the end of 2009. Construction will begin in early 2010 and project completion is scheduled in mid-2011.

The existing Coquitlam treatment plant provides more than 350,000 million litres of potable water daily.

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