Metro Vancouver delivers regional utility services, including water, wastewater, and solid waste management, and regulates air quality, plans for urban growth, manages a parks system, and provides affordable housing. The organization is a federation of 21 municipalities, one electoral area, and one treaty First Nation located in the region. The Annacis Island WWTP Stage 5 Phase 1 Expansion is a transformative upgrade to Metro Vancouver’s most critical wastewater facility, delivered in partnership with Brown and Caldwell. Serving 1.7 million residents, following the upgrade, and treating 196 billion liters annually, Annacis is central to protecting the Fraser River and supporting regional growth. By 2010, the plant was near capacity and faced significant seismic risk, prompting a resiliency driven expansion. Phase 1 increased hydraulic capacity by 50% and strengthened redundancy to enhance long term reliability. Major works included primary sedimentation, secondary clarifiers, solids contact tanks, aeration blowers, gravity thickening, heat exchangers, and CDAC control building that houses the brains of the plant—all required to remain operational after a design-level earthquake. Extensive ground improvement, structural separation, and innovative seismic resilience features were integral to protect both new and existing infrastructure and meet post-disaster criteria. Delivered across seven construction packages within an operating facility, the program maintained treatment performance for more than a decade of construction. Digital tools, including LiDAR, 3D modelling, robotic inspections, CFD, and physical hydraulic modeling reduced uncertainty and enhanced design precision. Guided by Metro Vancouver’s long term resilience vision and backed by Brown and Caldwell’s multidisciplinary engineering, the project produced a resilient, efficient, and future ready facility that safeguards public health, supports growth, and protects the world’s largest salmon bearing river.

Phase 1 was delivered through a coordinated, multidisciplinary approach designed to maintain uninterrupted operations at one of the region’s most critical facilities. The project team divided the program into seven interdependent construction packages, enabling precise sequencing, risk reduction, and continuous treatment performance. Meeting National Building Code of Canada post disaster requirements for the first time at a Metro Vancouver facility drove extensive ground improvement, structural ingenuity, and seismic design innovation.

A suite of digital tools strengthened decision making and reduced uncertainty. LiDAR scanning captured exact geometries in confined areas without bypassing flows, while robotic inspections of live channels identified deficiencies that informed targeted rehabilitation. Metro Vancouver’s early adoption of 3D design tools leveraged virtual reality sessions with operations staff to show exact configurations and layouts of the new facility – increasing collaboration. Computational Fluid Dynamics and physical hydraulic modeling validated hydraulic performance under all conditions, increasing operational reliability.

Close collaboration with Metro Vancouver operations staff guided phased shutdowns, biological loading management, and complex construction activities within the site—including rerouting the plant’s primary BC Hydro feed while operating entirely on standby power over three weekends.

Phase 1 delivers lasting environmental and social benefits, including energy-efficient blowers and enhanced odour control to reduce greenhouse gas and odour emissions for surrounding communities. Seismic-resilient design protects the Fraser River’s ecological health and critical migratory fish pathways under new building code requirements. With a 50 percent increase in hydraulic capacity, the region is better equipped to support population growth, public health, and the Fraser River.