New Westminster residents on hook to cover costs months after water main break
Posted July 11, 2025 7:16 am.
People living in a New Westminster high-rise left badly damaged by flooding sustained after a massive water main break in mid-February have agreed to fork over thousands of dollars, because they feel they have no other choice.
At a special meeting Thursday night, residents of 71 Jamieson Court, one of several buildings affected, agreed to pay a one-time levy of roughly $3,600 to help cover costs after they say the building’s contingency fund ran dry and the bills are piling up. There are 220 condos at the building, so the total cost comes in just under $800,000.
CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO 1130 NEWSRADIO VANCOUVER LIVE!One resident tells 1130 NewsRadio the vote passed with “flying colours,” but is worried they’ll be pressed for more money down the road.
“It’s not like we ever had another choice,” said Goran Bilandzija.
“Next is that we will have to pay very quickly, probably within couple of weeks. This might not be the last special levy. It remains to be seen.”
It’s unclear what may happen to those who can’t afford it, like some seniors who live in the building. Bilandzija wonders if they’ll be forced to sell and move.
“We don’t have any options,” adds Zoran Filipovic, who has jumped between living in his condo and Airbnbs. He says the noise and smell from a generator at the property is disrupting his sleep, being forced to previously take time off from work, as a result.
Many residents are feeling a growing frustration as they say no one is helping, no agency is taking responsibility or being held accountable for what happened and now they’re being forced to pay out-of-pocket for something that wasn’t their fault.
New Westminster Mayor Patrick Johnstone told 1130 NewsRadio this week that he understands people are upset, but, “Fundamentally, they have repairs to do, and that’s not the city’s place to be involved in those repairs.”
Metro Vancouver is responsible for the 36-inch pipe that burst, and says the cause is still under investigation.
It says the pipe typically delivers 32 million litres of drinking water to almost 100,000 residents every day, but it can’t say how much water flooded the streets that night.
The vote by residents comes as a potential class-action lawsuit against the City of New Westminster and Metro Vancouver, for what some feel was a slow response, is considered.
Both the city and regional district declined to comment on the lawsuit.
