In November 2023, Metro Vancouver Regional District formally requested that the Government of Canada provide $250 million to help cover the cost of the first phase of work for the new Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant.
Just before Christmas 2024, the federal government’s fall economic statement outlined a commitment of $250 million in federal funding for this sewage treatment plant project over five years, beginning in the 2025/2026 fiscal year.
This matches the $250 million previously committed by the Government of British Columbia in 2023.
The combined $500 million in funding from the federal and provincial governments will go toward the $750-million first phase of the project, which focuses on the major site preparation and ground foundations work required on the poor Fraser River delta ground conditions of Iona Island, which is located just northwest of Vancouver International Airport. The regional district is covering the remainder of the $250 million of the first phase of work.
The federal government’s contribution of $250 million is a part of the regional district’s total ask of $3.3 billion from the federal government to cover 33% of the estimated total $9.9 billion cost of the entire multi-phased construction project for the new sewage treatment plant, which replaces the adjacent 1963-built facility.
The $9.9 billion cost is based on 2022 dollars, with $6.4 billion being the actual project cost and $3.5 billion for a contingency fund and risk reserve for any unexpected costs, given the challenges and complexities of the project. This is the single most expensive infrastructure project in the history of the Metro Vancouver region as a whole — exceeding the cost of major transportation infrastructure projects — and one of British Columbia’s most expensive after the Site C hydroelectric dam.
Location of the existing and future new Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Facility layout of the new Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. (Metro Vancouver Regional District)
Construction on the first phase of work is expected to reach completion in 2026. The majority of construction will be performed in the middle phases from 2026 to 2034 and the final phase from 2035 to 2042. The plant will be operational by 2035.
As the project progresses to its future phases of construction, the regional district is also hoping to receive additional significant funding from the federal and provincial governments to lessen the direct annual household and business fee impacts on the end users of this facility, which serves the sewerage catchment area entailing the city of Vancouver, the University of British Columbia, the University Endowment Lands, and parts of Richmond.
The new facility meets new federal regulations for a higher level of sewage treatment, provides long-term capacity for population growth, and establishes seismic and flood risk resiliency design measures.
May 2024 construction on the new Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. (Google Maps)
In October 2023, the Vancouver Airport Authority completed an overhaul and rerouting of the east-west Ferguson Road just north of the North Runway. This major road project serves the dual purpose of creating new large parcels for major industrial developments and the primary access route for the trucks to reach the sewage treatment plant construction site on Iona Island.
The regional district is also currently in the process of navigating its significant construction cost overruns and delays with building the new North Shore Wastewater Treatment Plant. The exponentially higher cost of $3.9 billion is now being covered by the region’s households and businesses, especially those on the North Shore, through increased annual user fees.