Fraser Valley to see new flood protection funding

Farmers and communities in the Fraser Valley are set to see new money to help prepare for floods, as the B.C. government announced the launch of a $20 million program.

In a news release Tuesday, B.C.’s agriculture and food minister Pam Alexis says the government is taking action to help protect the Fraser Valley.

“We know climate change is expected to bring more frequent and intense flooding to the biggest agricultural growing region in our province,” she said.

“The 2021 atmospheric river was devastating and our farmers were extremely hard hit, so we’re helping them prepare for flooding risks while also supporting food security and ecosystem health for generations to come.”

The money comes through the new Fraser Valley Flood Mitigation program which is part of the $200 million food security fund, and is set to help “support resiliency on individual farms as well as larger, community-scale projects that reduce flood risks for the broader community and support shared values like fish habitat and ecological diversity.”

It notes that the program’s goal is to help those most impacted by the atmospheric river that brought devastating flooding in 2021.

More than 1,100 farms were impacted, which the province says was “the biggest agricultural disaster” in its history.

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Windberry Farms owner Brad Driediger says the money helps recognize the challenges that farmers face.

“We believe that the measures outlined, such as improvements to farm-level infrastructure and community-scale flood-mitigation projects will increase our farm’s resilience to future floods. This is not about our farm but strengthening this community and food security in British Columbia. We look forward to working together in building a more-resilient agricultural sector for our province,” he said.

Abbotsford Mayor Ross Siemens adds that many people are still struggling following the flood, and the money will help bring restoration to the community.

“Access to this funding will help to support them in protecting their livestock, crops, and businesses. As a society, we can do without many things, but food is not one of them. As the agricultural capital of Canada, Abbotsford looks forward to continuing to work closely with our Provincial partners to establish additional flood-mitigation solutions to better protect our community and our provincial food supply,” he said.

The province says the money will go toward projects like drainage or water infiltration systems, and elevating electrical farm equipment, and feeding stations.

Funding between $10,000 to $300,000 is up for grabs for plan-based projects, the government says, whereas between $200,000 to $5 million is available for infrastructure projects “with as much as 100 per cent of eligible project expenses covered by the program.”

It adds that individual farms will be “eligible for up to 90 per cent of funding for on-farm flood preparation and mitigation projects up to $200,000.”

For more information about the program and eligibility, click here.