 The project received funding for initial construction from NSERC in April 2007.As of early 2013, the cavity had been refurbished and re-sealed to new cleanliness standards, more stringent than for the original SNO due to the new experiment's greater sensitivity.The main civil engineering challenge is that the current SNO vessel is supported by a series of ropes, to prevent the weight of the heavy water inside from sinking it in the surrounding normal water.