Frustration felt in New Westminster one year after water main break
Posted February 13, 2026 7:12 am.
Last Updated February 13, 2026 7:15 am.
Almost exactly one year has passed since a water main in New Westminster broke in the night, leaving multiple high-rise buildings damaged from widespread flooding.
In the early hours of Valentine’s Day 2025, water started gushing into streets, buildings and underground parking garages. That morning, roads were closed, power was cut, and city and regional district crews began assessing the damage.
But one year later, one resident says his life is not back to normal.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!Zoran Filipovic still lives in his suite on Jamieson Court. He tells 1130 NewsRadio the past year has been difficult.
He had to take temporary stress leave from work, has been in and out of his suite due to noise and smell concerns, has spent more than $10,000 of his money on various costs, and still doesn’t have full access to the building’s amenities, despite still paying full property taxes.
“Everybody blames somebody else. No one wants to take responsibility.”
After the water main burst, it took hours for crews from Metro Vancouver, which operates the pipe, to turn off the water.
Filipovic says that by then, the damage was done.
“Water running in P3 level destroyed 63 cars, destroyed the elevator room, destroyed the transformer. And now we’re waiting for a new transformer after one year. People who live on the ground level on Francis Way, I think they’re back in now, in their apartments.”
He’s not happy with either the regional district or the City of New Westminster, adding that neither entity has taken accountability for what happened.
“We don’t have a lot of answers from the city. The Metro [Vancouver] guy and the fire department said it was, ‘A great job done,’ — not really. There were no sandbags. There was no action. People are really frustrated more with the reaction than anything. We understand a pipe is broken, but somebody has to be responsible for that. That was the problem.”
Filipovic admits he initially placed the majority of the blame on Metro Vancouver, but after 12 months, he feels the city dropped the ball.
“The pipe belonged to Metro Vancouver, and they tried. They had a meeting with us, but it wasn’t really useful. They just told me how old the pipe was and how big the pipe was, but when I asked about the generator in front of my suite, they didn’t have an answer. The city and Metro Vancouver didn’t show up at the same time [that morning]. In the beginning, they blamed each other. It’s really just one circle. Everybody blames somebody else. No one wants to take responsibility. Everybody makes mistakes. You just have to say, ‘We made a mistake, and we’ll pay for that.’ But the problem is somebody else has made a mistake, and I have to pay for it.”
He points out that he’s filed at least two claims, but hasn’t been paid by Metro Vancouver or the city.
Multiple residents suggested launching a class-action lawsuit throughout the year, but Filipovic feels resigned that the idea hasn’t gone anywhere at this point.
“You have to go on, but the scary part of this is [wondering] if the city will learn anything. They always talk about earthquakes, but when you see how they dealt with one broken pipe, can you imagine when an earthquake happens — how it will be a disaster?”
Filipovic claims the incident has also impacted the real estate values in the area.
“People have tried to sell their units, and it’s not really going well because when people heard what happened, and the maintenance fees, I don’t know who will buy a unit.”
In a statement to 1130 NewsRadio, the City of New Westminster says it has received notice of “157 potential claims,” but adds it doesn’t know if they’ve been paid because they’ve been directed to Metro Vancouver.
In another statement to 1130 NewsRadio, Metro Vancouver explained why it’s not paying out claims.
“With no prior signs of leakage or failure, this was a sudden and accidental, and therefore unforeseeable, event. While investigations were unable to determine the exact cause of the failure, contributing factors may have included natural ground settlement, significant and nearby construction, installation of the infrastructure over 60 years ago, and seismic activity that registered near Victoria just prior to the incident. Given these findings and based on Section 744 of the Local Government Act with respect to claims arising from the breakdown or malfunction of a water system, Metro Vancouver was unable to consider claims it received.”
The regional district confirms that in the weeks following the flood, staff did install a new section of the pipe, applied protective coatings to prevent future corrosion, and took care of excavation so water supply could be restored to normal service.
