Metro Vancouver Board adopts strategy and timelines for replacing Lions Gate and Iona Island sewage treatment plants

Moving Beyond Regulatory Compliance

In May 2010, the Metro Vancouver Board took a giant step forward when it adopted the Integrated Liquid Waste & Resource Management Plan, completed in November 2009. 

The centrepiece of the plan is the implementation strategy for replacing the ~50-year old Lions Gate and Iona Island primary sewage plants with advanced treatment facilities. The total cost for the two is an estimated $1.4 billion.

The Challenge: How to Finance $1.4 Billion

The plan adopted by the Board commits the region to completing Lions Gate by 2020, and Iona Island as soon as possible after 2020. The critical issue is how will Metro Vancouver fund the $1.4 billion cost in an era when senior governments are in deficit; and local governments cannot count on 3-way equal sharing of infrastructure costs with provincial and federal governments.

Just before the vote, Board Chair Lois Jackson called for development of a ‘senior government communication strategy’ about the region's funding need. She challenged all the Directors to convey the Metro Vancouver message about the need for senior government cost-sharing at any and every opportunity when there is contact with federal and provincial representatives.

TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete story posted on the Water Bucket website about the Board decision, click on Metro Vancouver Board adopts precedent-setting Integrated Liquid Waste & Resource Management Plan