Vancouver Landfill Phase 4 Closure

The Challenge

Closing an active phase of one of BC’s largest landfills

The City of Vancouver’s landfill in Delta has operated since 1966 and serves roughly 70% of the Metro Vancouver region. Its 225 ha footprint is closed progressively: as each phase reaches final grades, it receives a final cover, gas collection, leachate and stormwater controls while filling continues next door.

Phase 4 covers about 18 ha. Its closure had to be designed and built alongside active filling in Phase 5, tie into gas and leachate systems across the site, and stay on schedule through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our Approach

Design, tender and full-time construction oversight

SHA, working with SCS Engineers, designed the closure, prepared the tender package and served as Engineer of Record, providing contract administration and full-time QA/QC from tender in 2019 to total performance in 2023.

• Final cover: a geosynthetic cap of LLDPE geomembrane between protective geotextiles, with a crushed gravel drainage layer and 400 mm of topsoil, plus a compacted clay air-intrusion barrier at the toe of the north slope.
• Landfill gas upgrades: 53 vertical gas wells, pressure relief collectors, DrainTube gas collectors beneath the liner, wellhead control assemblies and a new network of gas, condensate and air supply piping.
• Leachate and stormwater: new leachate culverts and manholes tied into the existing interceptor, and a lined stormwater pond, including a review against BC’s dam safety regulation.
• Staging around active filling: a temporary cover with biocover on the west slope so the Phase 5 closure can tie in later, and a 2021 redesign of Phase 4 North that let filling continue while construction advanced.
• Field engineering: source inspections of aggregates before delivery, settlement gauge tracking to refine cut and fill quantities, and weekly annotated drone imagery in field reports at no added cost.

The Outcome

Gas collection first, closure complete

The project team prioritized the gas collection system in 2021 so landfill gas capture could start as early as possible, deferring other items to 2022. Phase 4 South was closed in 2021 and Phase 4 North in 2022, with total performance reached in October 2023.

The work continues two decades of progressive closure at the Vancouver Landfill, and the City has since retained SHA for the design and contract administration of the Phase 5 closure.