Tag Archives: infrastructure

Focus on the Record – Early Records of the Municipal Waterworks System

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The importance of a municipal waterworks system to the daily lives of residents is often overlooked.  In Richmond, it wasn’t until 1910 that a system for piping drinking water was established.  Prior to this date, drinking water was normally available only through the use of rain barrels or by delivery, often in milk cans, by water wagon or train.

The development of Richmond’s waterworks system is well documented in records held at the City of Richmond Archives.  City bylaws, Council minutes and reports, and files relating to the building, regulation and taxation of the water system provide an accurate picture of its installation, maintenance, expansion and continual modernization.

First page of 1930 agreement whereby Richmond joined the Greater Vancouver Water District. City of Richmond Archives MR 66, File 548 First page of 1930 agreement whereby Richmond joined the Greater Vancouver Water District. City of Richmond Archives MR 66, File 548

Records at the Archives speak to the importance of the 1909 bylaw authorizing an agreement with the City of New Westminster to supply piped water to Richmond and the 1930 agreement to join the Greater Vancouver Water District and the implications of that to the present day.

Charles Jones, Waterworks Superintendent. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1986 19 1 Charles Jones, Waterworks Superintendent. City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1986 19 1

In addition to City government records, the private papers at the City of Richmond Archives of Charles Jones, the waterworks superintendent for the municipality from 1913 to 1952, enable researchers to understand the complexity of the work performed and the challenges facing a municipality situated on islands at the mouth of the Fraser River.  The manner in which Jones laid the watermain on the river bed to supply water from Lulu Island to Sea Island in 1937 was celebrated as a technical feat never before seen in the province.

Laying of Watermain to Sea Island. Diagram of the laying of the watermain to Sea Island, 1937. City of Richmond Archives Accession 2011 25

City records such as the 1936 Waterworks Atlas, which mapped all built structures in the municipality and their proximity to connections to watermains, are consulted on a regular basis today by environmental and property researchers studying land use and development in Richmond.

Waterworks atlas map for area near Alexandra Station, 1936. City of Richmond Archives Map 1991 40 75 Waterworks atlas map for area near Alexandra Station, 1936. City of Richmond Archives Map 1991 40 75

In total, the early records of waterworks tell the story of the growth of the municipality through the building of an infrastructure which many people now take for granted.

[Note – this is an updated version of an article first published in the Spring 2015 issue of the Archives News]

New at the Archives – Engineering Richmond

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Part of an ongoing program to digitize historical images at the City of Richmond Archives are 980 slides taken by Richmond’s Engineering Department documenting a variety of major infrastructure projects in the municipality between 1969 and 1977. Highlighted here are just two projects from 1969: the construction of the Dinsmore Bridge and the Gilbert Trunk Sewer.

Dinsmore Bridge under Construction

Dinsmore Bridge under Construction, February 1969. (City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1988 123 461)

Before the opening of the bridge in 1969, the only connection between Sea Island and Lulu Island was the Moray Channel Bridge, built in 1957 to replace the old Middle Arm span of the Marpole Bridge. While the Dinsmore Bridge itself was built with funding from the Federal government, the approaches to the new bridge connecting Gilbert Road to Russ Baker Way were the responsibility of the municipal government. Part of the construction of the bridge approaches required the crossing of some of Richmond’s existing infrastructure, such as the Lansdowne Canal, as shown below.

Crossing for Lansdowne Canal

Construction of the Crossing for Lansdowne Canal from the Dinsmore Bridge. (City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1988 123 472)

Another major construction project in 1969 was the Gilbert Road Trunk sewer, designed to collect sewage from lateral feeder pipes extending east and west to transport raw sewage south to an outfall in the South Arm of the Fraser.

Gilbert Road Trunk Sewer - Laying Pipe

Gilbert Road Trunk Sewer – Laying Pipe near Westminster Highway, March 1969. (City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1988 123 431)

The new sewage system was designed to replace an older patchwork of collectors and outfalls. Today, the Gilbert Road Trunk Sewer No. 2, a parallel system,  is under construction by Metro Vancouver.

Gilbert Road Trunk Sewer

The Gilbert Road Trunk Sewer – Looking North from Westminster Highway. (City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1988 123 430)

Before 1973, when the Lulu Island Wastewater Treatment Plant at the south end of Gilbert Road became operational, the pipe discharged untreated sewage directly into the south arm of the Fraser River near the foot of Gilbert Road.

Sewer Outfall - the launch

The Placement of the Gilbert Road Sewer Outfall at the South Arm. (City of Richmond Archives Photograph 1988 123 401)

Other Engineering Department activities documented by the recently-digitized group of photographs include dyking and drainage projects, traffic and intersection studies, and aerial surveying of fire halls, municipal buildings and parks and recreation areas.