Metro Vancouver’s drinking water system
Metro Vancouver delivers about one billion litres of drinking water each day to member jurisdictions. This rises to more than 1.5 billion in summer due to lawn watering and increased outdoor use.
The regional water system includes three protected water supply areas, three main source storage reservoirs, three supplemental alpine reservoirs, five dams, two water treatment plants, 27 in-system storage reservoirs and tanks, 19 pump stations, eight re-chlorination facilities, and over 520 kilometres of transmission water mains ranging from 35 centimetres to three metres in diameter.
Where does drinking water come from?
Metro Vancouver’s water comes from rainfall and snowmelt in three major water supply areas: Capilano, Seymour, and Coquitlam. These protected water supply areas comprise about 60,000 hectares and are closed to public access to safeguard the high-quality source water.
The water supply is stored in three main source storage reservoirs and three supplemental alpine reservoirs. Metro Vancouver benefits from having existing supply sources which reliably refill, are near to the region that they service, and are situated at high elevations that allow for the delivery of water largely by gravity, reducing the need for energy-intensive pumping.
While rainfall replenishes the reservoirs during the winter and spring, dry periods and higher demand for water in the summer lower the reservoirs' water levels — and our drinking water supply.
Water treatment and testing
Our drinking water is treated right as it leaves the reservoirs, in two state-of-the-art
water treatment plants. The Seymour-Capilano Filtration Plant can treat up to 1.8 billion litres of water per day and the Coquitlam Water Treatment Plant treats around 380 million litres of drinking water each day.
Metro Vancouver conducts daily tests on our drinking water — analyzing around 35,000 water samples each year. Water is tested at the reservoirs, through the water mains, and again in each member jurisdiction.
Water transmission
Over 520 kilometres of water mains connect a network of dams, pump stations, storage reservoirs and disinfection stations, plus hundreds of kilometers of member jurisdiction distribution systems used to deliver drinking water to the taps of homes and businesses.
Municipal drinking water infrastructure
From the regional system, water is conveyed to individual homes and businesses through infrastructure owned and operated by local member jurisdictions (e.g., your municipality). In addition to the facilities Metro Vancouver operates, member jurisdictions also operate urban reservoirs, a network of underground pipes, and other infrastructure.
Metro Vancouver’s and member jurisdictions’ roles
Metro Vancouver and its members work together to supply high-quality drinking water to the region.
Metro Vancouver is responsible for protecting and providing the region's water supply, including:
- Protecting watersheds
- Storing, treating and ensuring the quality of water
- Supplying water directly to member jurisdictions
- Planning for future supply and demand
Member jurisdictions are responsible for:
- Delivering water from regional water mains to homes and businesses
- Collecting water samples for quality control
- Enforcing regulations
- Utility billing
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Water metering (where used)
Operating the regional water system requires constant upgrades, maintenance, and expansion. By using less drinking water for daily activities, we can reduce demand and minimize the high costs required for new infrastructure.