City faces $10-million flood tab
Drillers hired on ‘a handshake’ breached aquifer, left Canada
The City of Vancouver will try to collect on a repair bill of at least $9.9 million after un-permitted drilling on a city residential lot caused a massive aquifer flood that has yet to be contained, and has endangered neighbouring multimillion-dollar homes.
In September 2015, Feng Lin Liu, owner of 7084 Beechwood, was building a mansion on his $3-million vacant lot. A contractor who was hired “on a handshake” to build Liu’s home hired an inexperienced team of drillers to install a geothermal heating system, according to the city. The drillers — also hired on a handshake — pierced the aquifer, unleashing torrents that have been gushing about two million litres of water a day. The accident sparked an evacuation order and fears that a sinkhole could swallow about 12 nearby homes.
The drillers quickly fled the construction site and left Canada, according to the city. Liu is now responsible for the damage, deputy city manager Paul Mochrie told Postmedia News last week.
By the end of March, the city had paid $7.9 million to stop the underground flood, Mochrie said. The city hopes that B.C. Groundwater, the company contracted to cap the aquifer and shore up shaky ground, will finish the task by midsummer, leaving the city with an estimated bill of $9.9 million.
But the city has repeatedly underestimated the difficulty and cost of the operation. In September 2015, a city staffer wrote, “total costs may go to $200,000 ... (and) it sounds like the homeowner is taking some steps to manage things.”
Mayberry’s report recommends council approve a pilot project for this summer for “mobile sewage pump-out services,” and enhance enforcement of sewage-management regulations. Costs are estimated to be $75,000.
Mayberry emphasized the city is trying to ensure health and safety for everyone in and around False Creek, not attempting a “crackdown on live-aboards.”
“It’s really an issue of proper sewage management,” she said. “I don’t care if you live on your boat, I just think you should have to manage your sewage properly.”
Of course, for people living aboard boats in False Creek or elsewhere along the B.C. coast, this is not a new phenomenon. But it remains an open question exactly how much Vancouver’s acute housing woes are causing residents to seek different kinds of shelter beyond conventional “housing” options.
This year marked the first time Metro Vancouver included liveaboards in its annual count of the region’s homeless population. Mayberry said the City of Vancouver has asked Metro to “dig a bit deeper” into the connection between housing affordability and people making their homes on the water.
The number of live-aboards in this year’s homeless count won’t be available until the final report is released in late summer, said Metro Vancouver spokesman Greg Valou, adding that the report may provide more insight into how the nature of homelessness is changing in the region, whether people are living full time in boats, cars, or other options.
Matt Thomson, the research manager for the 2017 Homeless Count in Metro Vancouver, said live-aboards had the option of “self-selecting ” out of the survey, “because in some areas, live-aboards are choosing to live on their boats, and may be fully employed and not require any support services.”
Shawn Wilson, who lives on his wooden cabin cruiser in False Creek, agreed there’s a link between Vancouver’s unaffordability and the number of people living on boats. Wilson lived in a Kitsilano apartment until five years ago, when the everrising cost of living prompted him to move out and live full time on his sailboat. He said it’s a diverse community living on False Creek, including graduate students, tradespeople, office workers, and at least one family raising young children.
Wilson, who has a Metis background and grew up boating in Powell River, now lives on the creek with his partner and his dog, and works repairing boats. He believes most people in the “marine community” dispose of their sewage responsibly, adding: “most of us are very environmentally conscious. ... We try to keep the smallest footprint we can.”
Wilson said it seems like the Vancouver Police Department has recently increased ticketing of boats violating anchoring laws and staying in False Creek without permits. The VPD was not able to immediately answer questions about enforcement or provide stats on the number of tickets issued in recent years.
“They could let us have a little spot somewhere,” Wilson said. “As long as the boats are seaworthy and as long as we’re able seamen and responsible. We’re part of the city, we’re part of the community, and I believe it adds character to the city.”