| Official name | Kapoor Tunnel |
|---|---|
| Begins | Sooke Lake Head Tank |
| Ends | Japan Gulch |
| Maintained by | Capital Regional District Integrated Water Services |
| Length | 8.8 km (5.5 mi) |
| Conduit height | 7 ft (2.1 m) max. |
| Conduit width | 7 ft (2.1 m) max. |
| Capacity | 580,000 m3 (20,000,000 cu ft) per day |
| Construction began | 1960 |
| Opening date | 1970 |
The Kapoor Tunnel is a straight 8.8 km (5.5 mi) subterranean route which is currently the main transport of water from the Sooke Lake to the Westshore, City of Victoria, Esquimalt, and the Saanich Peninsula. When it was determined that the Sooke Flowline would no longer meet the region's needs, the decision was made to excavate the tunnel. Prior to construction of the flowline, Arthur Adams, the consultant for the flowline construction, had proposed the Kapoor Tunnel be built. Unfortunately, that era's technology was not yet up to the task[1].
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The tunnel was formed by a miniature tunnel boring machine (TBM), which was built in Vancouver at a cost of $258,000. Excavation was undertaken from both ends with the intention of meeting in the middle. The machine was later abandoned and excavation was carried out manually due to the soft rock clogging the teeth and gears and causing motor burn outs. The contractor quit and the water district completed the task in 1967[2]. On completion, the tunnel was an engineering success. Even without modern laser technology, the tunnel was joined only 6 in (152 mm) off line.The project was almost incident free with the only major injury occurring when a worker lost an eye drilling into a hole containing an undetonated stick of dynamite.
The project was a challenging feat due to a variety of factors:
The tunnel runs from the head tank near Sooke Lake, which maintains a constant pressure to the Japan Gulch UV Plant near Goldstream Provincial Park.
This tunnel can convey 580 million litres/day, 10 times greater than the Sooke Flowline, and provides water to all municipalities, except Sooke and the Highlands. At a final cost of $5.6 million, it was money well spent since the Sooke Flowline was leaking and was vulnerable to blow downs and rock slides.
Every January, the tunnel is shut off and the city transfers over to the district's secondary Goldstream system. Workers must walk the 8.8 km (5.5 mi) route to look for cracks and other defects.