Better flood protection in the works for Grand Forks – Journal Of Commerce

GRAND FORKS, B.C. – A new dike and drainage system is planned for Grand Forks, B.C. as the latest component in the city’s flood mitigation program.

Grand Forks was hit by severe flooding in 2018 and one-third of residents were forced to evacuate their homes, said B.C. Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma in a release.

“The flood-mitigation work we have done with the city since 2018 paid off in a big way last year, preventing what could have been very serious flooding. This latest project will strengthen Grand Forks even further against future high-water events, better protecting people for years to come,” Ma said.

The 714-metre dike construction and 505-metre drainage system project is in the southern portion of the city and is designed to protect a 100-home neighbourhood and 17-hectare industrial area including the city public-works yard and wastewater treatment facility.

B.C. has provided more than $39.1 million in flood recovery and mitigation in Grand Forks and the surrounding area since 2018.

The new project in the Grand Forks Flood Mitigation Program is funded from the Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Adaptation stream of the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF).

Previous funding from the CEPF helped Grand Forks restore floodplain to a former neighbourhood by removing a 1974 dike, houses and infrastructure, and creating a 1.8-hectare off-river bypass channel to reduce flood risk and provide fish habitat, the release said.

Of the 1,500 buildings evacuated in the Boundary region in the 2018 flood, more than 500 were damaged. Damage was estimated at more than $38 million to agricultural operators, residential neighbourhoods, commercial areas and industrial operations.