Flood Response

Latest News

• News Releases, Bulletins and Updates

  November 14, 2024: Flood Recovery Update - Three Year Anniversary: Message from Mayor Siemens

  July 16, 2024: Flood Recovery Update to the Community: Message from Mayor Siemens,  repairs to the remaining larger infrastructure projects, advocacy and funding updates.

  June 20, 2024: Engineering firm addresses cost and prospects of Sumas Lake Return

  June 3, 2024: Improvements to Abbotsford pump station build resilience, make people safer

  February 14, 2024 - Improvements to Abbotsford pump station build resilience, make people safer: Province of BC Release: To help protect people, communities and farmland in the Fraser Valley’s Sumas Prairie from future flood events, the Barrowtown Pump Station in Abbotsford will receive significant flood-resilience upgrades.

  October 2023 Flood Recovery  Update

  June 20, 2023: Food security increases with improved Fraser Valley flood resiliency: Province of BC Release: Farmers and communities in the Fraser Valley, particularly those most affected by the 2021 atmospheric river, will receive support to increase their resiliency to floods and restore local ecosystems.

  April 28, 2023: Flood mitigation framework, projects make Abbotsford region more resilient: Province of BC Release: A significant multi-government agreement to make Sumas Prairie more resilient to flooding was signed on Friday, April 28, 2023, by the Province, Semá:th, Matsqui and Leq’á:mel First Nations, the City of Abbotsford and the City of Chilliwack.

  November 17, 2022: Flood Recovery Update to the Community: Message from Mayor Siemens, infrastructure and repair updates, preferred option summary.  View the full Abbotsford News edition of The Flood: One Year Later.

  November 10, 2022: Flood recovery, Sumas Dike repairs underway in Abbotsford: Province of BC Release: People in Abbotsford will be better protected from flooding with more recovery work underway, including permanent Sumas Dike repairs and sediment removal for sites in the Fraser Valley.

  October 24, 2022. Recovery Update to the Community: Message from Mayor Braun, updates on infrastructure repairs, sediment removal, and status of the dikes.

  July 8, 2022 - During the flooding, the City installed a debris boom across the Sumas Canal to protect the pumps in the Barrowtown Pump Station from being damaged or plugged. Last week, five large loads of debris, collected by the boom, were removed from the Canal and disposed of. The boom has now also been removed and debris removal was completed June 30th, 2022. View the photos here.

  June 24, 2022 - Recovery Update to the Community: Message from Mayor Braun, updates on infrastructure repairs and the flood mitigation preferred concept.

  June 13, 2022 - Council supports Sumas Prairie long-term flood mitigation

  June 10, 2022 - Sumas Prairie flood mitigation preferred option to be presented to Council following community feedback

  May 31, 2022 - View the photos showing the repairs to one of the City’s 12 bank stabilization sites in Sumas Prairie.  Repairs to all Sumas Prairie bank stabilization sites were completed by May 27, 2022.

  May 16, 2022 - Recovery Update to Community: Message from Mayor Braun, updates on site repairs and the Mayor's Thank You to the Community.

  April 27, 2022 - View the photos showing the repair work at one of the City’s 21 landslide sites, on Cranberry Court. The temporary repairs were completed on November 22, 2021. The City is awaiting approvals for the permanent repairs.

  April 8, 2022 - Recovery Update to Community: Message from Mayor Braun, updates on parks and repairs to date.

  April 5, 2022 - View the photos showing the repair work at one of the City's 84 damaged road sites, on Straiton Road, near Willet Road.  Repairs were completed on February 23, 2022.

  April 1, 2022 - Sumas Prairie Flood Mitigation Options to be Presented to Council.

  March 22, 2022 - View the photos showing the repair work and road relocation at one of the City’s 21 landslide sites, on Sumas Mountain Road, 400 metres north of Carlyle Road. Repairs were completed on February 23, 2022.

  March 16, 2022 - View the photos showing the restoration work on the playground at Delair Park, one of the City’s 19 damaged parks and trails. The playground restorations, including sanitation, were completed on March 3, 2022.

  March 10, 2022 - View the before and after photos of the temporary bridge replacement at Lakemount Road, the site of one of the City’s 13 damaged bridges. The temporary bridge replacement was completed on January 26, 2022.

  March 4, 2022 - View the photos of the repair work at one of the City’s 21 landslide sites, on Sumas Mountain Road at Cox Quarry. Repairs were completed on December 11, 2021.

  March 2, 2022 - Recovery Update to Community: Message from Mayor, Infrastructure Updates and Repairs to Date

  February 28, 2022 - Recovery Plan Update - Presentation to Council: Presentation to Council from General Manager of Recovery

  February 1, 2022 - Message from Mayor Braun for Abbotsford Residents

Long-Term Flood Mitigation

• Background

  Currently, when the Nooksack River overflows its banks, the water floods adjacent land and flows towards the flood boxes on Sumas River in Abbotsford. If these flood boxes are closed due to the water levels of the Fraser and/or Vedder rivers, water is held back and can flood properties as demonstrated by the latest atmospheric events. Depending on the volume, water can overflow the Sumas Dike into the former lake bottom area of Sumas Prairie. The November 2021 rainfall in Abbotsford was estimated to be approximately a one in 100-year event.

• Preferred Option

  Based on community feedback and additional technical analysis, the Preferred Option is a hybrid concept, combining some of the key infrastructure enhancements and flood-mitigation concepts originally identified in draft long-term flood mitigation options presented for public engagement in spring of 2022. 

  Through the engagement period, City staff learned the top three priorities for Abbotsford participants were avoiding damage to buildings, barns and other infrastructure, preserving existing and for agriculture and food security and maximizing opportunities for agriculture. Common key themes from community feedback included the desire to meet provincial standards for flood mitigation, plan for the long-term and prepare for more regular flooding events, address the issues to avoid repeating past events, protect future generations and future investments and reduce potential impacts on homes, farms, businesses and transportation routes. 

  The intent of this new hybrid option is to enhance the City’s existing flood protection system while maximizing agricultural land and food security, and minimizing the number of impacted properties. This option will meet minimum flood protection guidelines in B.C. and incorporate enhancements such as dike setbacks and floodway creation and provides a high level of overall protection. The level of protection offered by this option to Sumas Prairie Lake Bottom is up to a one in 200-year event (with climate change considerations). 

  In June 2022, City Council approved a flood mitigation option for Sumas Prairie and supported recommendations to prepare a funding submission to the Province of BC. This multi-phased option starts with building a Sumas River Pump Station. The new Sumas River Pump Station will address impacts in the event the City is unable to open the flood boxes, which is what occurred in November and also occurs during spring Freshet.

  More information on the four draft options and the public engagement program can be found at www.letstalkabbotsford/abbotsfordfloodresponse.

• Urgent Works

  • In July 2023 the City submitted a $1.6 billion application to the federal Disaster Mitigation Adaptation Funding (DMAF) program in order to move forward with the most urgent components of Preferred Option, which includes Barrowtown Pump Station Resiliency, a Sumas River Conveyance System (pump station) and a Habitat Enhanced/Flood Storage Area.
  • In late May 2024 the City learned we had been denied this critical DMAF funding.

  DMAF is a national, competitive, and merit-based contribution program requiring communities to apply for funding through a competitive applications process. 

• Engineering Report on Returning Sumas Lake

  • Following the June 2024 UBC journal article published in Frontiers in Conservation Science titled “Reclaiming the Xhotsa: climate adaptation and ecosystem Q1 restoration via the return of Sumas Lake”, the City engaged engineering firm, Kerr Wood Leidal (KWL) Associates Ltd., to review the article and provide some substantiation of the claims and direction proposed along with some technical commentary on the information in the article.  
  • The City is making the KWL commentary (in the form of a technical memorandum) available to help the public understand some the complexities involved in addressing the serious flooding concerns and extreme climate impacts related to the rivers, waterways and flood infrastructure of Sumas Prairie. 

  Read the full Technical Memorandum 

• Next Steps

  • As a local government, we don’t have the funding available to meet the financial requirements to support this critical community safety work, which is why the City continues to advocate for urgent flood protection funding from senior government.
  • We continue to work in collaboration though the Nooksack and Sumas Watershed Transboundary Flood Initiative and Sumas River Flood Mitigation Plan  and with all levels of government, including our local Indigenous leadership, to implement solutions that best protect all the people in this area from future flooding events. 
• Current Projects

   Barrowtown Pump Station

  • Barrowtown Pump Station Resiliency Upgrade
    • Design is currently underway for a new flood wall at Barrowtown.
    • Planning work is underway to move forward with the other components (removing the pumps and replacing seals, bearings and recoat impellors). Estimated project completion is December 2027.
  • Backup Power Generator Project
    • Due to supply chain issues, there was a delay in delivery of the generator; however, it is now anticipated to be delivered to site before the end of this year. Estimated project completion is 2024.   

• Nooksack and Sumas Watershed Transboundary Flood Initiative

  • In October 2023 the City of Abbotsford, along with Semá:th First Nation, Leq’á:mel First Nation, Mathxwí First Nation, Nooksack Indian Tribe, Lummi Nation, Whatcom County, Province of British Columbia and the State of Washington signed an agreement that commits to addressing flood risks and restoring salmon habitat in portions of British Columbia’s Fraser Valley and Washington state’s Whatcom County.
  • Discussions are ongoing at the various tables of the Nooksack River Transboundary Flood Initiative, led by the Province and Washington State.  
  • At these tables, the City continues to advocate for agencies to: 
    • better understand how our diking and drainage system works and how it’s not designed to take on or manage water from the Nooksack River;
    • the associated flooding impacts on structures, water quality and biodiversity, and the economy; and
    • the need to establish a flow split at Everson (Nooksack overflow location), sharing of the risk between US and Canada.  

  Read more about the Nooksack and Sumas Watershed Transboundary Flood Initiative

• Sumas River Watershed Flood Mitigation Planning Initiative

  • In April 2023 the City of Abbotsford signed the Sumas River Watershed Flood Mitigation Collaborative Framework, an agreement with the Province of BC, Semá:th, Mathxwí and Leq’á:mel First Nations and the City of Chilliwack to make Sumas Prairie more resilient to flooding.
  • This collaborative framework will support the design of mitigation projects in the Sumas River watershed and timely delivery of watershed recovery programs that best protect the people, farming community and infrastructure in this area from future flooding events.

  Read more about the Sumas River Watershed Flood Mitigation Planning Initiative

• Advocacy Partners

  We have received letters and words support from many local, regional and provincial governments, organizations and groups that have said they are also advocating on our behalf to senior government for this critical funding, including:

  • Premier of BC 
  • MP Fast
  • MP Vis 
  • MP van Popta 
  • MLA Banman 
  • City of Merritt
  • Town of Princeton
  • Semá:th First Nation
  • Mathxwí First Nation
  • City of Chilliwack 
  • Fraser Valley Regional District
  • District of Hope 
  • City of Mission 
  • Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce
  • BC Blueberry Council
  • BC Chicken Marketing Board 
  • BC Dairy Association
  • BC Pork Producers Association 
  • BC Trucking Association 
  • BC Chamber of Commerce 
  • CP Rail 
  • Fraser Valley Indo-Canadian Business Association
  • Greater Vancouver Board of Trade
  • Indo-Canadian Business Association of BC
  • Southern Railway of British Columbia Ltd.
  • Surrey Board of Trade 
  • Tourism Abbotsford 
  • TransMountain 
  • University of the Fraser Valley
  • Vancouver Port Authority 
     

Flood Recovery

• Dikes

  All the dike breaches from the 2021 flood event have been repaired and have been reinforced in key areas. 

  • Cole Road Dike: Geotechnical investigations and designs for a permanent solution are now complete and we are currently working through Dike Maintenance Act approvals.
  • Atkinson Bridge and Highway 1 and on North Parallel Road breach (near Barrowtown): Subsurface investigations (drilling) took place in Fall/Winter 2023 to assess the adequacy of emergency dike repairs for permanent operations for the breach. We are still waiting for the final Geotechnical reports.
  • Sumas River bank/dike stabilization sites: We are nearing completion on sites between Atkinson Road and Lakemount Road bridge and at several locations south of Highway 1. 
• Landslides

  Repairs are complete on the Cranberry Court and Sumas Mountain Road landslide sites, and repairs for the other sites are in the works.

  • Old Yale Road (Majuba Hill) landslide: Designs are complete and we are awaiting Disaster Funding Assistance funding approval.
  • Auguston Sewer Access Road landslide: Designs are complete for the landslides on this segment of road (off Straiton Road). Water Sustainability Act permits were submitted in Winter 2023 and we are now awaiting permit approvals. 
  • Ivy Court, Cariboo Court, Ash Street, McKee Road and Latimer Road landslides: Designs are complete and Water Sustainability Act permits have been submitted. We are now awaiting permit approvals.
• Waterways

  The City completed sediment and debris removal in several waterways and additional sediment removal work is expected to be completed this fall and winter.

  • Clayburn Creek: The Ministry of Environment is leading the work for Clayburn Creek bank repairs. The Province has issued a request for proposal to proceed with construction pending Budget, Fisheries and Oceans Canada, and Water Sustainability Act permit approvals.
  • Sumas Lake Bottom Canal Sediment removal: A survey of the Canal has been completed and we are waiting for the engineer memo to determine next steps.
• Bridges

  Repairs have been completed to eight damaged bridges

  • Bateman Road Bridge over Willband Creek
  • Angus Campbell Road Bridge over Marshall Creek
  • Wells Line Road Bridge over Saar Creek
  • Bowman Road Bridge over Arnold Slough
  • No. 4 Road over Sumas Canal
  • No. 5 Road Bridge over Sumas Canal
  • South Parallel Road Bridge over Marshall Creek
  • South Parallel Road Bridge over Sumas River