Richmond’s new, glass-walled pump station – which was more than three years in the making – has been awarded Project of the Year by the Public Works Association of B.C.
Recognized for its “multi-faceted design,” the No. 2 Road North Drainage Pump Station has public art, open space and interpretive features that all encourage public interaction with the site. Its glass walls also provide the public with an unusual glimpse of its inner mechanics.
In 2016, the provincial government announced funding for four drainage pump upgrades in the city. Located beneath the No. 2 Road Bridge, the pump services an area bound north-south by Francis Road and the dyke, and east-west by Railway Avenue and Gilbert Road.
The Project of the Year award is a province-wide competition where a city is awarded for a major project “deserving of special merit because of its unique features or complexity relative to the resources of the community.”
Richmond currently has 39 electronically-monitored pump stations to discharge rainwater during storms and in the event that the Fraser River spills over the dikes during a high tide.
The upgrade is part of the city’s and province’s plan to be prepared for a sea level rise of about 1.2 metres in the next 100 years.
