Background
In 2012, the new Federal Government mandated that secondary waste water treatment would be the minimum standard and set a deadline of December 2020 to meet this requirement. The Lions Gate Wastewater Treatment Plant would not meet the standard – and so – a project was born!
Originally, the plant – to serve the whole of the North Shore – was to cost $504 million – but in 2020 the price was revised to $622 million.
After the project had got underway, Metro Vancouver (government) insisted that the cleanliness standard be raised – to deliver tertiary treatment – one that exceeds federal regulatory requirements.
In this contentious atmosphere, the contractor was fired in the fall of 2021.
Acciona sued Metro Vancouver for $250 million in April 2022 claiming that it was impossible to build the plant without incurring an overrun that would increase the eventual cost from $622 million to more than $1,000 million ($1Bn)
Metro Vancouver responded by countersuing Acciona, insisting that losses to the Greater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District (GVS&DD) would exceed $500 million.
How Does This Affect West Vancouver?
(January 2023): West Van’s share of the capital cost was estimated at $70 million. However, this contribution was based on the final total cost being $1,058 million.
According to recent estimates, even this amount will not be enough – because the construction is only about 40% complete. Taking into account that much of the cost has already been incurred – the overrun above $1,058 million might only be around 30%.
However, that 30% overrun would also apply to West Van’s $70 million – leading to a future bill of possibly $21 million to be sourced by the tax payers of the municipality.
The outstanding question is – what allowance has been planned this … or, like the many Municipal assets that need to be repaired, has it just been left as unpleasant surprises for future Councils and Budgets?
UPDATE – 2024 – JANUARY
West Van’s share of the capital cost was estimated at $70 million. However, this contribution was based on the final total cost being $1,058 million.
According to recent estimates, even this amount will not be enough – hints (unattributable) are that the recent estimated total is $4 Billion (yes ‘Billion’) of which we, the taxpayers of West Van, will be expected to pay our share.
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Originally, the plant was to cost $504 million but in 2020 the price tag was revised to $622 million. Metro Vancouver has budgeted a cost of $1.058 billion for a program of work consisting of the treatment plant along with a pumping station and two-kilometre-long conveyance pipe, both of which have been completed
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Acciona claims it was not responsible for most of the 1,000-plus modifications made to the original project, nor the resulting delays and cost increases.
It said the extra steel needed to ensure the structure was resilient to earthquakes pushed the budget over the $1 billion mark.
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Primary treatment, which typically removes 50% to 70% of the suspended solids in wastewater, utilizes physical processes like planting and settling to remove debris, grit, oil, grease and a few lighter solids.
Secondary treatment applies additional biological procedures like aeration and activated sludge treatment to break down dissolved and suspended biosolids using good bacteria.
Tertiary treatment adds a third stage of treatment. A tertiary wastewater treatment process, by removing nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, can attain levels of water purification which make the water safe for many uses, and for sensitive ecological environments.
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