Metro Vancouver

Metro Vancouver is a diverse organisation that plans for and delivers regional utility services, including water, sewers and wastewater treatment, and solid waste management. It also regulates air quality, plans for urban growth, manages a regional parks system, and provides affordable housing. As a regional federation, the organisation serves 21 municipalities, one electoral area, and one treaty First Nation.

The Water Services Department of Metro Vancouver is the bulk supplier and distributor of drinking water for the region, and its member jurisdictions operate their local distribution systems. It manages three protected water supply areas that contain the source water and cover approximately 60,000 hectares. Metro Vancouver’s system consists of two major water treatment plants, more than 520 km of large-diameter transmission mains ranging from 35 cm to 3 m (about 14 to 120 inches), 27 in-system storage reservoirs, 19 pump stations, and eight rechlorination stations (Figure 1). The system supplies an average daily demand of 1.0 BL/d, with summertime peaks often exceeding 1.5 BL/d.