Metro Vancouver is constructing a new water supply tunnel deep under Burrard Inlet, east of the Ironworkers Memorial Bridge between the District of North Vancouver and the City of Burnaby.
This project is one of five new regional water supply tunnels that are being designed to meet current seismic standards to ensure the reliable delivery of drinking water in the region in the event of a major earthquake. When complete, the tunnel will also increase the capacity of the existing system to meet the long-term needs of the growing population.
The new water supply tunnel will be excavated deep underground using a tunnel boring machine. The tunnel boring machine will launch from a vertical entry shaft on the North Vancouver side and progress south under Burrard Inlet to the vertical exit shaft on the Burnaby side. Once the tunnel is excavated, three steel water mains will be installed inside the new tunnel and connected to the new valve chambers at each shaft site, and into the region’s drinking water system.