The governments of Canada and British Columbia (B.C.) have announced funding to prevent floods in Squamish.
“We have seen how climate change has increased the severity and frequency of devastating extreme weather events, floods, land erosion and fast-flowing rivers, putting whole communities at risk,” said Patrick Weiler, member of parliament for West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast—Sea-to-Sky Country. “Municipalities need the resources to fully respond to these challenges.”
Through the Jimmy Jimmy Judd Slough Replacement Project, the District of Squamish will replace two decommissioned culverts within the Squamish River Dike with a new flood box. The new box is designed to control seepage through the dike and will be controlled via automatically operated sluice gates.
The culvert will be equipped with instrumentation to measure rainfall, water levels within Jimmy Jimmy (Judd) Slough and the Squamish River, as well as the flow through the culvert to ensure it is operating properly. According to the Government of Canada, the replacement of the culverts will help prevent dike failure and protect the surrounding community from potential flood threats.
“This project will help Squamish make the necessary upgrades to the Squamish River dike to protect our community from potential floods,” said Weiler. “Working with our provincial and municipal partners, our government will continue to build the infrastructure that will ensure communities are resilient to climate variability and change.”
“Restoration of the salmon spawning habitat is a shared goal with the Squamish Nation and this project is critical to our ability of improving water quality and aquatic habitat in the Jimmy Jimmy (Judd) Slough,” added Karen Elliott, mayor of the District of Squamish. “We wish to thank the federal and provincial government for these funds that will allow us to build community resiliency while protecting, enhancing and preserving the health of our watershed and ecosystem.”
The Government of Canada is investing $1.4 million in this project through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream. Federal funding is conditional on fulfilling all requirements related to consultation with Indigenous groups and environmental assessment requirements.
