Climate change-related flood risk leads to reconstruction investment for Richmond
Federal, provincial, and municipal governments are coming together to “shore up” flood protections for the city
Richmond residents may see traffic interruptions at No. 3 Road and Westminster Highway along with the south end of No. 3 Road while reconstruction takes place. (Wikicommons/Bob Linsdell)
An increase in climate change-related flood risk has resulted in a $13 million investment to reinforce protections for the City of Richmond as part of its Flood Protection Management Strategy.
The island city will be reconstructing the No. 3 Road South Drainage Pump Station, quadrupling its pumping capacity, and raising a section of the dike to connect it to existing dike systems among other improvements.
Once complete, the infrastructure is expected to protect over 29,000 residents, about 50 businesses, and eight square kilometers of agricultural land, according to a B.C. government news release.
“We’re at the mouth of the river where the river meets the ocean, so we’re built on a floodplain,” says City of Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie.
“The average height of the land is about a meter above sea level. So we’re very vulnerable to flooding. Because we’re vulnerable to it, we pay a lot of attention to that.”
The federal government is providing $13 million in funding, the B.C. provincial government is contributing about $8 million, and the City of Richmond will spend about $3 million for the project.
Accessing funding from higher levels of government is required for the city, which already spends approximately $10 million per year to keep up with the necessary infrastructure upgrades in the face of flood risk caused by increasing storm severity and rising sea levels, Brodie says.
“We’ve been working with all the levels of government for many years, and getting contributions and grants to improve our flood proofing system,” he says
“It’s critical .… We cannot do it by ourselves. We need the federal and the provincial governments to assist us with this.”
Stewart Cohen is a Richmond resident and retired climate scientist who researched the regional and local effects of climate change for Environment and Climate Change Canada for 35 years.
He says the city is managing the threat of flooding responsibly.
“I think the investment is prudent. I’m glad to see that they are incorporating climate change futures into their day to day work of managing the city’s infrastructure, and I’m glad it’s being supported by the government,” Cohen says. “This is a very responsible way to manage climate change risk, I think is very smart.”
Cohen says climate change causes storms to increase in severity, and Richmond’s geography makes it more susceptible to sea level rise. Consequently, pumping stations, like the one the city is reconstructing, are critical to protect Richmond.
“As the world gets warmer, we will see [more] intense rainfall events. Climate change doesn’t cause the event, but it makes the event a little more intense and a little more likely to happen,” Cohen says.
“If we end up continuing down this path, and we get wetter, that means the stormwater sewers will have to handle more volume, and that means the pumping stations will have to handle more volume. So this is a very responsible thing to do as they upgrade the infrastructure.”
Residents can expect some traffic interruptions at No. 3 Road and Westminster Highway along with the south end of No. 3 Road while construction takes place. The timeline of the project has yet to be confirmed.
Until then, Cohen is confident that his home and the City of Richmond are in good hands with the government’s existing infrastructure and future flood protection plans.
“I feel very confident. I’ve lived here for almost 30 years and I’ve seen how successive city governments have paid attention to dikes, sewers, and pumping stations,” Cohen says. “So I feel very comfortable living here, and I plan to live here for the foreseeable future.”
