As the final evacuation order is lifted for the flood-ravaged Sumas Prairie, the mayor of Abbotsford, B.C. is warning that another catastrophe may be just around the corner.
Henry Braun said Friday that if the provincial and federal governments don’t work together to help Abbotsford raise $1 billion for critical dike repairs and upgrades, the next breach could be cataclysmic.
“The existing disaster with Sumas Prairie will pale in comparison if the Matsqui dikes breach,” he said.
“The Fraser River is a much bigger and much more powerful river than the Nooksack River and will wreak havoc on our economy and infrastructure.”
On Nov. 14 and 15, a record-breaking atmospheric river pounded the southern part of B.C., and in Washington state, caused the Nooksack River to flow across the border and into the Fraser Valley.
Thousands of Abbotsford residents, Sumas Prairie farmers and their livestock were forced to evacuate as the flood waters swallowed homes, vehicles and critical infrastructure.
Dikes for the Matsqui Prairie, northwest of the Sumas Prairie, along the Fraser River were unaffected by the disaster.
Braun made an impassioned case for funds to upgrade those dikes in his last scheduled press conference related to the floods. The Fraser River is creeping up on them, he explained, as erosion leads to more silt being swept in from Hope B.C., and deposited at its depths.
“This isn’t rocket science,” he said.
“The City of Abbotsford, as a local government that receives only approximately 10 cents of every tax dollar, simply cannot fund $1 billion to build both dikes to today’s standards.”
The B.C. Chamber of Commerce has estimated that a flood from the Fraser River could cause upwards of $30 billion in damage.
Meanwhile, if the Sumas dikes aren’t fixed, Braun said some engineers predict the Nooksack River could take a “hard right turn” and carve a new channel into the Sumas Prairie next time there’s another major rainfall event.
“Then 100 per cent of the water will be in our valley. Now that would be a doomsday scenario,” he said.
Federal and B.C. agriculture ministers Marie Claude-Bibeau and Lana Popham toured a flood-impacted poultry farm in the Sumas Prairie on Friday.
Without providing much detail, both promised Abbotsford would receive their co-operation and support in the aftermath of the disaster.
Braun said the dike repairs are a matter of “food security” — Abbotsford is the top agriculture-producing jurisdiction in the country on a per-hectare basis, with sales of $1 billion per year according to the 2016 census. It also provides 50 per cent of all the milk, chicken, turkey and eggs consumed in the province.
Nevertheless, Braun said he’s filled with hope as the municipality turns to the next chapter of flood response.
On Friday, the city lifted the final evacuation order in the Sumas Prairie, allowing all but a handful of individual homeowners in the Lake Bottom area to return. The city has also downgraded a ‘do not use’ water advisory in the area to a boil water advisory.
“I am optimistic that from this point on, it will be two steps forward and no further steps back,” he said.
Municipal crews will be keeping an eye on the weather this weekend, he added, as between 40 and 60 millimetres of rain are forecast to fall on the region.
Soaking grounds combined with winds up to 60 kilometres per hour could topple trees, Braun explained.
He ended his press conference with tears of thanks for the municipal workers, government officials, residents, journalists, and family members who have supported him and the city through the disaster.
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