The BC government is introducing its new flood strategy which aims to build flood preparedness throughout the province.
The program entails a $39-million investment to support fifty risk reduction and climate action projects, this includes support for a few local projects.
The Regional District of East Kootenay gets $2.15-million to support assessment and mitigation options guidance for Mine Creek and Hosmer, and for the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation project in Fairmont.
Funding is divided into three categories for foundational activities, non structural activities and small scale activities.
See a statement from the BC government, as well as a list of projects to receive funds, below:
A new B.C. Flood Strategy will also build flood preparedness throughout the province.
“The climate crisis is here and we need communities to adapt and strengthen their defences against flooding and other extreme-weather events,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “We are working with local governments and First Nations to reduce disaster risk and better prepare people and communities for the impacts of climate change.”
The Province is investing approximately $39 million for more than 50 local disaster-risk reduction and climate-adaptation projects through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF). This funding will be used by local governments and First Nations to make necessary changes, such as small-scale structural flood projects and improvements to community flood-mitigation strategies, including more accurate flood mapping.
While taking immediate steps to support communities and keep people safe, the Province is also launching a new comprehensive B.C. Flood Strategy that will guide continued flood preparedness and mitigation work by all orders of government from now until 2035. The strategy will support communities to better prepare for flood impacts and strengthen their ability to respond to flood crises.
“After decades of piecemeal approaches to flood management, we have worked with communities to develop B.C.’s first integrated vision for provincial flood preparedness so we can keep people safe,” said Nathan Cullen, Minister of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship. “The new B.C. Flood Strategy will guide our continued work with First Nations, local government agencies, the agricultural sector, industry and conservation organizations, as we take actions to reduce flood risk. Together, we can build stronger communities that are resilient to flood hazards in a changing climate.”
Projects funded across B.C. through the CEPF include:
* a dike rehabilitation project, including temporary emergency flood-protection equipment in low-lying areas and a nature-based flood-protection assessment to enhance the natural environment and protect shorelines to keep everyone in Richmond safer from flooding;
* keeping people safe from potential flooding and mitigating damage to salmon-spawning grounds through decommissioning and repairs to the Holland Creek weirs in Ladysmith;
* reinforcement and repairs to the East and West Munday Creek slopes damaged during the 2021 atmospheric river to protect people and nearby homes, as well as slope stabilization and creek floodplain mapping in Langley Township;
* reinforcing a drainage-pump system and raising and widening the Latimer Creek dike in the Serpentine River in Surrey to safeguard important transportation corridors and agricultural lands, and provide protection against a flood that has a chance of happening once in 200 years;
* the Carnegie and Kensington community centres in Vancouver will be upgraded to operate as safe centres for vulnerable people during extreme weather, including heat, and poor air-quality events, while existing mechanical equipment will be replaced with heat-pump systems that provide cooling capabilities, increased air filtration to improve indoor air quality and use less energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions; and
* increasing the knowledge and capacity of riparian, or the area between land and water, and watershed health, and restoring two sites to kickstart a larger watershed restoration project, significantly reducing the loss of land and sediment, which impacts downstream communities and water systems, and improves conditions during flood and drought events in the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary.
The CEPF helps communities to better prepare for and mitigate the impacts of climate-related emergencies by funding local projects and initiatives in several categories. In addition to the Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Adaptation stream, other categories include public notification and evacuation-route planning, Indigenous cultural safety and cultural humility training, and emergency-support services equipment and training. The CEPF is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities on behalf of the Province.
The Province has invested $369 million into the CEPF since it was established in 2017. Approximately $214 million has been provided to First Nations and local governments through the CEPF for more than 1,880 projects. This includes approximately $115 million to support disaster-mitigation and climate-adaptation projects.
The Community Emergency Preparedness Fund is administered through the Union of BC Municipalities and funds projects that support First Nations and local governments to better prepare for disasters and reduce risks from hazards in a changing climate.
First Nations and local governments throughout British Columbia will receive approximately $39 million from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund as follows.
Funding is divided into three categories:
* Category 1 (C1): Foundational activities (risk mapping, risk assessments, planning)
* Category 2 (C2): Non-structural activities (land-use planning, community education, purchase of eligible equipment)
* Category 3 (C3): Small-scale structural activities
Cache Creek – C1: Erosion mapping and debris-mitigation plan, C2: Flood public-education program
Approved amount: $300,000
Chase – C1: Flood-mitigation plan, C2: Floodplain bylaw
Approved amount: $300,000
Clearwater – C3: Riprap reconstruction at Old North Thompson Highway Bridge
While updating and extending its floodplain mapping and flood-mitigation plan, the District of Clearwater identified a potential failure risk associated with the Old North Thompson Highway Bridge. This project is for design and reconstruction of riprap protection for the bridge abutments to repair the bridge and protect the community from flooding.
Approved amount: $3.35 million
Columbia Shuswap Regional District – C1: Update to regional geohazard-risk prioritization
Approved amount: $150,000
Colwood – C1, C2: Disaster-risk planning and reduction
Approved amount: $300,000
Courtenay – C2: Joint temporary flood-mitigation planning project
Regional partner: K’omoks First Nation
Approved amount: $268,576
Cowichan Tribes – C2: 2023-24 Mobile flood-control equipment
Approved amount: $150,000
Cowichan Valley Regional District – C1, C2: Cowichan risk-reduction policies and processes
Approved amount: $267,080
Creston – C1: Stormwater management master plan
Approved amount: $150,000
East Kootenay Regional District – C1: Hosmer and Mine Creek assessment and mitigation-options guidance project, C3: Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project Phase 3
The Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project in the Fairmont Hot Springs community will construct a large barrier and basin to contain debris from a 100- to 300-year flooding event and maximize the debris-storage capacity. Previous hazard and risk assessments found a high risk for property damage and loss of life from debris flow and floods from Fairmont Creek and Cold Spring Creek. This project will reduce the risks of debris flood and debris flow on the community and keep people safer.
Approved amount: $2.15 million
Fraser-Fort George Regional District – C3: Dore River erosion-mitigation project
In June 2020, a sudden flood on the Dore River outside the community of McBride was 30% greater than anything experienced in 61 years of provincial records. The flooding and erosion led to significant loss of river-front property and private rural infrastructure. This project includes installation of riprap that will protect and prevent further loss of people’s property in a subdivision along a 1.5-kilometre stretch of the river.
Approved amount: $2.94 million
Ka:’yu:’k’t’h’/Che:k’tles7et’h’ First Nations (Kyuquot) – C1: Risk and vulnerability assessment: natural hazards and climate change
Approved amount: $142,932
Kitimat – C1: Kitimat-Kitamaat village tsunami-hazard modelling, assessment and hazard-mapping project
Regional partner: Haisla Nation
Approved amount: $300,000
Kootenay Boundary Regional District – C1, C2, C3: Boundary region rural riparian restoration, bank stabilization and ecosystem services
This project enhances the resilience of communities and ecosystems throughout the Boundary region by increasing the scope of knowledge, awareness and capacity in riparian and watershed health. The work includes the restoration on two sites along Burrell Creek (previously impacted by a wildfire) and the Kettle River (previously impacted by flooding and erosion) to kickstart a larger watershed-restoration project. The project will significantly reduce loss of land, reduce sediment which impacts downstream communities and water systems, and improve conditions during flood and drought events.
Approved amount: $814,992
Ladysmith – C3: Holland Creek weirs decommissioning and repairs
Ladysmith has seen several flooding events on Holland Creek in the last decade. A recent dam-safety audit found two water-intake weirs in poor condition and determined that the Holland Creek Dam was at risk of failure in the event of heavy creek flows. This project involves decommissioning the lower weir, and upgrading and repairing the other weir. This builds on repairs to a third intake weir that were planned following flood damage in January 2020. The repairs and decommissioning of the weirs will mitigate or remove the risk of erosion, and the risk of damage to downstream infrastructure, such as the Highway 1 crossing. Decommissioning the lower weir will also return the creek profile to near the original condition, allowing better fish passage and aquatic habitat.
Approved amount: $2.75 million
Langley Township – C1: Bertrand Creek floodplain mapping, C3: East and West Munday Creek slope stabilization
Langley Township will complete slope-stabilization repairs at three locations along East Munday Creek and West Munday Creek in Walnut Grove that were impacted during the November 2021 flooding. This work will mitigate the risk of further slope destabilization that could impact nearby homes and private property. The East Munday Creek repairs will also provide stabilization to a pedestrian bridge that will allow a section of a trail to fully reopen to the public.
Approved amount: $1.15 million
Leq’a:mel First Nation – C2: Weather station and water-level sensors
Approved amount: $100,326
Maple Ridge – C1: Climate-related multi-hazard risk assessment
Approved amount: $150,000
New Westminster – C3: Phase 2: Urban reforestation to save lives and mitigate the impacts of climate change
New Westminster’s Urban Biodiversity Enhancement initiative was launched in response to several fatalities due to extreme heat in June 2021. Phase 2 sees the installation of 532 trees on city streets to provide canopy cover for vulnerable people and reduce the impact of heat in high-risk blocks and keep people safer during extreme heat. Phase 1 consisted of the planting of 2,200 trees in vulnerable neighbourhoods. The target is to plant 8,500 trees on city property by 2030.
Approved amount: $1 million
Okanagan-Similkameen Regional District – C1: Hazards, risk and vulnerability assessment
Approved amount: $150,000
Oliver – C1: Reducing the risks from future water disasters, improving infrastructure along Wolfcub Creek
Approved amount: $45,000
Osoyoos – C1: Flood-response plan
Approved amount: $150,000
Parksville – C1: Arrowsmith dam inundation study
Approved amount: $42,402
Pauquachin First Nation – C3: Coastal erosion project
The Pauquachin First Nation’s lands on the Saanich Peninsula have suffered major shoreline erosion since the mid-1960s, with increasing frequency in the past five years, impacting the community through the destruction of habitat and traditional food sources, and the removal of artifacts and ancestral remains. This project rebuilds 220 metres of shoreline to pre-erosion levels to protect the cultural heritage of the shoreline, improve biodiversity, increase food sovereignty and promote climate-change resilience.
Approved amount: $2.33 million
Penticton – C1: Hazard, risk and vulnerability assessment
Approved amount: $115,000
Port Moody – C1, C2: Coastal flood-management strategy
Approved amount: $300,000
Pouce Coupe – C3: Wastewater treatment lagoon dam toe bank stability – construction phase
Slope failures around the outfall pipe at the Pouce Coupe’s wastewater-treatment plant on the Pouce Coupe River have occurred during flood events over the past 10 years. Repairs to the outfall were completed in 2019 and 2022, along with improved geotechnical design to reduce the likelihood that the outfall would be disrupted in the future. This phase continues the implementation of the geotechnical design and adds riprap armouring to the riverbank. This work will help to resist flood erosion and provide the berm with flood protection for up to a 100-year flood event.
Approved amount: $2.33 million
Richmond – C1: Nature-based flood protection solutions assessment; C3: Dike rehabilitation project
The dike rehabilitation project involves structural rearmouring and replacement of failed riprap along sections of city dike in the Terra Nova area and along the 21000 block of River Road in east Richmond. Since the city’s entire perimeter dike performs as a continuous system, these projects will protect and keep everyone in Richmond safer from flooding.
Approved amount: $2.65 million
Songhees Nation – C1: Lekwungen Nation’s Rock Bay planning project – sea-level rise adaptation, biodiversity recovery and community resiliency
Approved amount: $149,922
Squamish Nation – C1, C2: Squamish Nation disaster-risk planning and reduction
Approved amount: $292,403
Strathcona Regional District – C1: Update Oyster River floodplain map and develop a hazard, risk and vulnerability assessment; C2: Our path forward through understanding, balance and expression of culture
Regional Partners: City of Campbell River, Nuchatlaht First Nation, Village of Tahsis, Village of Zeballos
Approved amount: $400,992
Surrey – C3: Upper Serpentine River drainage-resiliency upgrades
This project addresses two vulnerabilities in response to the increased frequency and magnitude of flooding on the Upper Serpentine River. Work at Fry’s Corner drainage-pump station will prevent water seepage and undermining of the pump station and the associated dike. Also, raising and widening the Latimer Creek dike and tie-ins to the Serpentine River will safeguard important transportation corridors and agricultural lands, and provide protection against a flood that has a chance of happening once in 200 years.
Approved amount: $4.97 million
Thompson-Nicola Regional District – C1: Water-system drought risk and infrastructure resiliency assessment
Approved amount: $146,200
Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc – C1, C2: Flood-risk assessment and adaptation plan
Approved amount: $300,000
Tseshaht First Nation – C1: Hazard, risk and vulnerability assessment; Emergency-management plan and emergency-response plan
Approved amount: $41,262
Vancouver – C1: Fraser River flood-mitigation plan; C2: Portable air conditioning for residents in non-market housing; C3: Building upgrades for safe centres at Carnegie and Kensington community centres
The Carnegie and Kensington community centres will be upgraded to operate as safe centres for vulnerable people during extreme weather, including heat and poor air-quality events. Existing mechanical equipment will be replaced with heat-pump systems that provide cooling capabilities, increased air filtration to improve indoor air quality and use less energy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Approved amount: $5.24 million
Vernon – C3: Polson Park naturalization
This naturalization project will make Vernon Creek within Polson Park more resilient to flooding, improve people’s safety, protect park infrastructure, and restore riparian and fish habitat. Four undersized bridges that present a flood risk will be removed and replaced with one modern bridge. In collaboration with the Okanagan Indian Band and regulatory authorities, fish-spawning habitat and native trees and shrubs will be incorporated.
Approved amount: $2.52 million
Warfield – C1: Trail Creek floodplain mapping
Approved amount: $150,000
– Article includes information from BC government
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