Tunnelling complete for the Annacis Water Supply project

A major milestone has been reached for the Annacis Water Supply Tunnel, which is intended to deliver quality drinking water to communities south of the Fraser River for years to come.

Fifty metres below the river, a tunnel boring machine — nicknamed “Anna” — has completed the excavation of the new 2.3-kilometre tunnel between Surrey and New Westminster.

The contractor will now begin installing a massive pipe that is more than two-and-a-half metres in diameter. Built to withstand a major earthquake, it will be able to carry roughly 600 million litres of water per day.

“These water tunnels are going to be in service for at least 100 years, hopefully 200 years, or more, so because of that, we looked at making more stringent seismic requirements,” said Murray Gant, director of tunelling with Metro Vancouver.

“Principally, we’re able to deliver drinking water during and after a major event.”

This critical infrastructure project began work in 2022 with a budget of $450 million.

“Metro Vancouver has had some unwarranted bad press and commentary,” said John McEwen, mayor of Anmore.

“This is a perfect example of a budget that’s coming in on time and on budget.”

The project still has a few more years to go, with work expected to be finished in 2028. At that time, the tunnel will be connected to the existing drinking water system and will service nearly a million homes.