01-40_WC_149_JUL-AUG26_PT - Flipbook - Page 17
Out of sight, but
not out of mind
Annacis Tunnel key step in delivering
water resiliency to Metro Vancouver
BY SAUL CHERNOS
EATHER-RELATED NATURAL DISASTERS occur frequently enough along
North America’s Pacific coastline. However,
a catastrophic-level earthquake has long been
acknowledged as particularly worrisome, and
governments have accordingly boosted the resiliency of
their infrastructure, from roads and bridges to energy
systems and water facilities, putting forward-thinking
seismic codes into practise. While the odds of a Magnitude 9 earthquake striking the Lower Mainland of
British Columbia might seem slim, Metro Vancouver
isn’t taking any chances and is in the throes of a $2-billion series of water supply installations and upgrades to
dams, treatment plants, reservoirs, pumping stations and
underground tunnels in order to minimize the risk of an
abrupt, calamitous loss of potable water.
Of the considerable planning and work underway
for more than a decade across Metro Vancouver, seven
enormous water supply tunnels stand out as particularly
emblematic not only due to their sheer size but their
placement deep within glacial till that has withstood the
test of time. The Port Mann Water Supply Tunnel was
first to be completed in 2017, followed by the substantial
completion of the Second Narrows Water Supply
Tunnel in July 2025. With the Stanley Park tunnel also
under construction and the Lulu Delta, Pitt River, and
Cambie-Richmond tunnels all in planning and design,
it’s the 2.3-kilometre-long Annacis Water Supply Tunnel,
which has a construction budget of $450 million and
ranks 26th in Water Canada’s 2026 list of Top 50 water
projects in Canada, that’s next in line.
Metro Vancouver
W
Saul Chernos is a freelance
writer for Water Canada.
WATERCANADA.NE T
WATER C AN ADA • JULY/AUGUS T 2026
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