It has been almost two years since catastrophic flooding swept across Sumas Prairie, and Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens says the city is continuing to push for funding to mitigate potential future damage.
In a flood-recovery update posted Friday (Oct. 27) to the city website, Siemens said the city has submitted a $1.6 billion application to the federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
If approved, the money will be used towards resiliency of the Barrowtown pump station at $66 million, a new Sumas River pump station at $870 million, and flood storage and habitat enhancement at $120 million.
“We are hopeful we will receive the funding soon so we can get started with the work,” Siemens states in the update.
He said these projects are the “most urgent components” of the $3 billion long-term flood mitigation plan that was endorsed by council in June 2022.
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Siemens said there are families and operations on Sumas Prairie who are still covering from the November 2021 floods and “who worry of a repeat event as the rainy season approaches each year.”
“As a city and council, we share these concerns, which is why we’ve been working diligently on repairs and continue to advocate for long-term solutions here in B.C. and Washington State,” he said.
Siemens referenced work being done among government agencies, including the Transboundary Flood Initiative that was signed Oct. 27 by the province, the City of Abbotsford, Whatcom County, First Nations and others.
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The initiative is in relation to flood-mitigation risk and salmon habitat restoration for the Nooksack and Sumas watersheds.
Siemens also said the city also put forward a motion at the recent Union of BC Municipalities annual convention asking for the provincial government to be re-established as the diking authority in B.C.
The motion was endorsed without opposition.
Siemens also updated some of the projects that have been underway in Abbotsford, including reinforcing existing flood infrastructure, completing permanent repairs to the main Sumas Dike breach and raising the dikes in key places.
“As a result of this work, we feel we are in a better position than we were in 2021,” he said.
“However, there is still a lot of important work that needs to be done to ensure our families, farmers, businesses and our provincial food system remain secure and that Highway 1, our national highway and province’s key transportation corridor is protected.”
A full list of all the flood-recovery projects currently underway can be found with Siemens’ update on the city website (abbotsford.ca).