Metro Vancouver Regional Board Ratifies $110M Water Filtration Expansion for Coquitlam Watershed

VANCOUVER, BC — The Metro Vancouver Regional District Board of Directors ratified a $110.5 million capital financing authorization on Tuesday to construct the Phase 2 filtration and ozone disinfection expansion at the Coquitlam Lake Water Treatment Plant.

Regional Water Supply and Engineering Upgrades

The Coquitlam watershed provides approximately one-third of the drinking water consumed by 2.8 million residents across 21 municipalities in the Lower Mainland. The capital project expands advanced direct filtration and ozone treatment capacity by 380 million liters per day, ensuring the regional water grid can handle elevated seasonal turbidity caused by severe winter storm runoff and climate-driven summer drought drawdowns.

The project includes seismic reinforcement of the deep-water intake tunnel and the installation of energy recovery micro-turbines to generate clean hydroelectricity on-site.

Fiscal Governance and Municipal Cost Apportionment

Regional board members reviewed revised project governance protocols following recent independent capital project delivery audits, instituting rigorous quarterly cost benchmarks to prevent project overruns.

Regional utility rates will incorporate a modest $14 annual household levy adjustment phased over four years to service the long-term low-interest provincial infrastructure debt.

Construction Milestones

Site clearing and early civil construction in Coquitlam will begin in January 2027, with the expanded filtration modules commissioned by late 2029.