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WEDNESDAY, JULY 16, 2014
Fraser flood risks threaten economy Business groups back urgent action on flood works by Jeff Nagel Black Press A new report underscores the Fraser River’s importance to the Lower Mainland economy and calls for an urgent program of dredging and other flood prevention measures, as well as upgrades to critical infrastructure. Commissioned by the Richmond Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with other chambers in the region, the study warns the region escaped a very close call in 2007. “The river came perilously close to overtopping the dikes in the Fraser Valley during the spring freshet,” says the report, which was released yesterday. It cites estimates that another flood rivaling the record flood of 1894 would cause tens of billions of dollars in damage and catastrophic losses for the 300,000 residents of the floodplain, as well as business and industry. Unlike the sparsely populated farmland of 120 years ago, there is now $50 billion worth of development on the Fraser’s floodplain. “Failure to deal expeditiously with this problem will leave a large part of the Lower Mainland at risk of enormous damage.” The study comes a few days after new provincial government studies projected major floods will be more frequent and severe as a result of climate change, and warned most dikes in the Fraser Valley are not high enough. The new research on the influence of climate change and the severe flooding in Calgary and Toronto last year“highlighted the need to act urgently to enhance flood protection along the Lower Fraser,”according to the report released by the business groups. It notes estimates of $9.5 billion in spending needed in Metro Vancouver to adapt to an expected rise in sea level.
Facing the challenges posed by the river is made more difficult by the fragmented governance of the region, the report said, noting there are 15 municipal governments, 29 first nations and more than 20 provincial or federal ministries involved in administration of the river. “The current costs just for diking upgrades for the tidal areas of the river and for adjacent coastal reaches required by 2100 are in range of $9 billion,” said the Richmond Chamber of Commerce’s Matt Pitcairn, who co-authored the report. “Damage from a major dike failure could be in the tens of billions of dollars, with very serious effects on the economy of this region, British Columbia, and all of Canada due to the impact on the transportation of goods and services.” Gerard Edwards, chair of the Richmond chamber, noted that some of the largest employers and businesses in Richmond occupy the banks of the Fraser River, “such as the Vancouver Airport Authority, the Steveston Harbour Authority, and Port Metro Vancouver.” Meanwhile, a broad coalition of local and senior governments and other interests have joined forces to craft a co-ordinated strategy to safeguard the Lower Mainland from a catastrophic flood. The Lower Mainland Flood Management Strategy aims to pull together an action plan with costs within two years to begin the process of raising dikes and improving other flood defences in the years ahead. It’s unclear how the billions of dollars in needed work will be raised but advocates hope a regional approach will prove more logical than leaving individual municipalities to work in isolation on flood planning and lobbying for grants. The initiative led by the Fraser Basin Council was announced Tuesday and will focus on the risk of Fraser River flooding and coastal flooding from winter storm surges, which are expected to be amplified by a rising sea level. •For more details on this story, see richmondreview.com
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Gold medal goalie visits oval
Don Fennell photo Montreal Canadiens’ star goaltender Carey Price, who backstopped Canada’s men’s hockey team to gold at the Olympic Winter Games in Sochi, signed a few autographs Saturday at the Richmond Olympic Oval during a guest appearance at Play4Life’s 4-on-4 ball hockey tournament.
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