RC121 NovDec 2025 - Magazine - Page 38
PEOPLE &PROJECTS
EVENTS
TOP100
EVENTS
IONA ISLAND WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT
2025 Top100 Projects Rank: 8 Value: $10 billion
proach to upgrading the Iona Island Wastewater Treatment Plant that
will mitigate annual cost impacts for ratepayers while protecting the
environment and public health.
“Over the past year, [we have] carefully examined options to deliver
secondary wastewater treatment as quickly as possible, while ensuring
cost sustainability for our region,” said Board chair Mike Hurley. “In
the past year, we’ve selected a technology that has given us an opportunity to rescope the Iona project to something we can deliver for
$6 billion, a reduction of almost $4 billion compared to the previous
project over the same time period. This is a great opportunity for us to
keep annual rates as low as possible for residents.”
Rather than building an entirely new facility, Metro Vancouver will
rehabilitate the existing primary treatment plant and deliver phased
upgrades to achieve compliance for secondary wastewater treatment.
This approach is possible in part thanks to more space-e昀케cient wastewater treatment technology.
In July 2024, Metro Vancouver awarded a contract for preliminary
design work and to explore alternative options to deliver the upgrades. As
part of this work over the last year, the technology for secondary treatment
was selected and several condition assessments of the existing primary
plant were conducted. This work provided a basis for the recommendation to the Board for an alternative approach for the Iona Projects.
The new proposed approach will:
Add incremental secondary treatment to the existing plant to
improve e昀툀uent quality sooner
Rehabilitate the existing primary plant and replace it as a future
project
Focus on the delivery of project components that will help meet
regulatory compliance
Reprioritize and defer sub-projects not required for secondary
compliance
38—RENEW CANADA – NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2025
RENEWCANADA.NET
METRO VANCOUVER
METRO VANCOUVER’S BOARD OF DIRECTORS voted to take a new ap-
