Victoria, BC – The Wastewater Treatment Project has made significant progress with the majority of the Project under construction. To complete the Project by the regulatory deadline of December 31, 2020, the Project Board is seeking approval from the Capital Regional District (CRD) Board for an additional $10 million of funding.
Cost pressures, primarily due to escalation in material costs and the Vancouver Island construction market, were first identified in September 2017 and have been reported in the monthly reports. These pressures have steadily increased as each conveyance contract has been awarded.
The Project Team has undertaken value engineering and reviewed the scope of each component before procuring contracts. Consulting engineering firm Kerr Wood Leidal (KWL) developed an updated model of the core area’s wastewater system to conduct an assessment of the remaining Project components. Based on extensive flow monitoring data and future wastewater flow estimates, KWL determined that only one of the remaining components (the extension of the Trent Forcemain) has any benefit and is required to meet federal and provincial regulations. Three components (upgrades to the Currie Pump Station, twinning of the Currie Forcemain, and twinning of the East Coast Interceptor) will not provide any benefit now, or in the future. Based on KWL’s work, the Project Board has refined the Project’s scope to remove the three components that would provide no benefit to CRD residents.
“With more data collected, we were able to refine the Project scope to match future demand in the CRD,” said Project Board Chair Don Fairbairn. “With a significant reduction in water use thanks to conservation efforts of residents and the increase in low-flow appliances, three of the remaining components will not provide any benefit and would result in unnecessary expenditures and construction impacts if built.”
Ernst and Young independently reviewed the forecast costs to complete the Project and the schedule, and agree with the Project Team’s forecast that the Wastewater Treatment Project can be built for $775 million and be completed on time. The key factors driving budget pressures are escalation in the cost of labour and materials, design changes from stakeholder input, and the constrained timeline.
The Wastewater Treatment Project continues to work towards safely delivering the Project to meet its goals, including minimizing life cycle costs to residents and businesses, providing value for money, and meeting federal and provincial regulations for wastewater treatment by December 31, 2020.
Attachment: Backgrounder (PDF)
About the Wastewater Treatment Project
The Wastewater Treatment Project will provide tertiary treatment for wastewater from the core area municipalities of Victoria, Esquimalt, Saanich, Oak Bay, View Royal, Langford and Colwood, and the Esquimalt and Songhees Nations. The Project will be built so we comply with federal regulations by the end of 2020, and consists of the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, the Residuals Treatment Facility at Hartland Landfill, and the conveyance system that will carry wastewater from across the core area to the McLoughlin Point Wastewater Treatment Plant, and residual solids to the Residuals Treatment Facility. The Wastewater Treatment Project is being funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of British Columbia and the CRD.
For more information, please visit: wastewaterproject.ca
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For media inquiries, please contact:
Andy Orr, Senior Manager
CRD Corporate Communications
Tel: 250.360.3229
Cell: 250.216.5492