Metro Vancouver’s sewer system overflows after extreme rainfall

Metro Vancouver’s sewer system saw several overflows because of the weekend’s historic record-breaking rainfall.

The Deputy General Manager of Operations at Metro Vancouver Mani Deo says several pump stations were inundated with rainfall and heavy water.

He says crews have been out since Friday, and are still working to fix things up, and in some cases still waiting on new equipment.

“That will depend on how long it takes for that (electrical) equipment to arrive, but it could be the end of the week, through to a few weeks to get the stations up and running,” Deo said.

“Depending on what they find from the leak location, from the break location, that’ll really dictate how long it’s going to take to fix up the issue and then get the assets back in service.”

Deo says staff has been working to keep the public, themselves, and the environment safe and there really isn’t anything Metro Vancouver could have done to avoid the extreme rain.

“This much rainwater, like we had this weekend, starts entering the sanitary system, that’s where it becomes and issue.”

He says the infrastructure is built the way it needs to be, with a separate storm system but he says you can’t build your way out of climate change because the rain was so extreme it essentially overwhelmed both the storm system and the regular sewer system.