Delta Coun. Dylan Kruger was recently re-appointed as chair of Metro Vancouver’s Flood Resilience Committee.
Among the issues on the committee’s agenda in 2023 was the Lower Mainland Flood Management Strategy Update, the forthcoming BC Flood Strategy as well as the region’s freshet preparations and response.
Kruger told the Optimist that, in 2024, the committee will be focused on working with members on vital prioritization work for flood protection across the region, as well, reviewing and providing feedback on the upcoming provincial flood strategy.
“Cities need to stop competing with each other for scarce senior government grant dollars. We have to work together on flood protection for the sake of everyone in the region,” said Kruger. “I’m also renewing my call for the province to re-take responsibility for dike management in British Columbia. The cost of necessary dike upgrades in Delta alone is over $2 billion dollars. There is simply no way that any municipality of our size will ever have the resources to tackle such an expensive project.”
Meanwhile, the provincial government continues to work on its flood strategy, with a draft strategy to be completed in 2024.
In late 2022, the government released the British Columbia Flood Strategy Intentions Paper and gathered feedback from stakeholders including local governments.
A Delta staff report on the Intentions Paper noted that a great deal of technical flood analysis has already been undertaken for the Lower Mainland through the work of the Fraser Basin Council.
The city has undertaken a number of specific studies and capital works, including detailed design of dike raising improvements for a section of the Boundary Bay foreshore, dike armouring along sections of the Boundary Bay foreshore and is reviewing policies relating to flood protection for new developments.
However, the most significant challenge identified by the City of Delta is funding to undertake improvements and it is essential that the flood strategy address the issue, the report added.