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More than one billion litres of water have spurted from a $3 million residential lot on the west side of Vancouver since inexperienced drillers breached an aquifer under the site then fled the country 15 months ago.

Qualified crews took over the site a few days after the breach and after months of planning and preparation (and pauses for government approvals), they could be just a few steps away from sealing the hole.

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Completion of the project will come as relief to nearby residents, whose neighbourhood is now dotted with more than 150 sensors to monitor ground movement amid an ongoing fear that a sinkhole could develop around the breach and under homes.

But the closure process is complicated and carries its own set of hazards and concerns, as Thierry Carriou, an engineer and expert hydrologist at B.C. Groundwater Consulting Services, explained in a recent interview.

“It’s complex if you want to do it right. Lots of people have tried to close off flowing wells by bringing up a cement truck and dumping the cement in … Your chance of success on that is probably less than five per cent,” said Carriou, who has been contracted to fix the problem.