Draft report to Vancouver City Council missing critical hydrogeological study

VANCOUVER – A draft policy statement sent to Vancouver City Council regarding a massive, proposed development of the Jericho Lands is missing a critical hydrogeological study and the city should delay plans to discuss the report on January 24 until the study is completed and made publicly available, says the Jericho Coalition, a group of concerned citizens opposing the current proposal.
“Without the critical hydrogeological study that covers the potentially serious groundwater issues, the draft policy statement is woefully incomplete – because the whole Jericho Lands project could have to be changed entirely,” says Murray Hendren, a Coalition spokesperson who is a retired environmental engineer.

Jericho is particularly sensitive as previous groundwater drillers reported that the groundwater aquifer under at least part of the site is confined and under pressure. Digging into a confined aquifer for the foundation of even one of the 60 high-rise towers planned for the site could cause a major release of the artesian groundwater, which could in turn result in erosion, sinkholes, and ground subsidence.

Hendren notes that the city’s draft policy statement itself acknowledges that groundwater conditions will be crucial to the proposed development:
The detailed findings on groundwater conditions and its interactions and subsequent analysis may significantly impact various elements of the site development including: water management systems, ecological functioning (on and off-site), built form and open space design, subsurface parking and circulation, the alignment of the proposed UBCx SkyTrain upfront and lifecycle costs of the project and sustainability. (p. 148)
“In other words, all aspects of the development could change, depending on groundwater conditions. The final project may look nothing like that shown in the current plan,” said Hendren. “Why would City Council discuss and ask for comments on a draft policy statement that may prove to be completely unrealistic?”
Hydrogeological (groundwater) data are usually required only at the zoning stage for individual structures, but given the size and complexity of the site, the size and numbers of proposed high-rise towers, the proximity to Jericho Park and major infrastructure and a suspected artesian aquifer, a comprehensive hydrogeological study is needed at the policy statement stage to assess the feasibility of the proposed project.

Hendren said he will be meeting with city engineers next week to discuss the hydrogeologic situation. But he has been advised that the City is unable to answer detailed questions about the site. If there were simple solutions, they would already be in the Draft Policy Statement”, Hendren said.

Susan Fisher notes that members of the Jericho Lands Working Group have asked repeatedly for the hydrogeological study report over the last two years. It now appears that the study wasn’t done as the necessary anthropological permits were never issued.

“The hydrogeological report is hugely important because a project with 60 high-rise towers up to 49-storeys for a total of 13,000 units for 28,000 people will require significant excavation for foundations and infrastructure,” Hendren said. “For the City to potentially approve such a massive development in principle, thereby signing off on the proposed density, without that hydrogeological report is simply unacceptable.”

“The location of all of the proposed buildings, including three huge 49-storey towers, may be completely untenable because of underground conditions that we simply have no information about to date,” said Hendren.

“If the hydrogeological conditions prove unfavourable, then the overall site density will have to be revised downwards,” Susan Fisher added.