Whereas diking authorities in British Columbia are currently mandated to design, repair, construct, and maintain dikes to a 200-year event standard, which entails significant financial and logistical burdens; And whereas a 100-year event standard would provide a sufficient level of protection against flooding and associated risks and allow for the development of more diking infrastructure, while reducing the financial strain on local governments and enabling diking authorities to allocate resources more efficiently, prioritize critical infrastructure projects, and enhance community resilience against natural disasters: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urges the provincial government to engage in meaningful consultation with municipalities, diking authorities, and interested parties to develop and implement revised standards that strike a balance between ensuring public safety and mitigating undue financial burdens on local governments.
Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship British Columbia continues to experience increasingly extreme flooding events, including the 2021 Atmospheric River floods, the 2018 Grand Forks flood, and the 2017 Okanagan floods. Flooding is the most common and costly disaster in Canada and the Province recognizes it has an important role in coordinating a collaborative approach to reduce flood risk. The 200-year event standard is the Provinces dike design standard and the recommended minimum designated flood for land use management planning in most flood hazard areas. For the Lower Fraser River, this level is more conservative, approximating the 1894 flood roughly a 500-year event standard. This 200-year event standard aligns with many national and international best practices, including the approach now being taken by the federal government with modernized Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangements DFAA for provinces and territories. As of April 1, 2025, new assets built in high-risk areas, or those with major damage in a DFAA-eligible event, must be appropriately mitigated for flood, to a 200-year event to remain eligible for future DFAA funding to the Province. The Provinces minimum flood standards support communities and individuals toward reducing flood disruption and loss, including eligibility of Provincial claims to the federal government under these new DFAA requirements. In 2024, the Province released the BC Flood Strategy outlining a whole-of-society approach to flood risk reduction. Under Action 1.1, the Province is collaborating on floodplain mapping in many higher-risk areas that include multiple flood event scenarios, including the 200-year event standard. Action 2.6 speaks to reviewing and updating Provincial legislation and regulations to strengthen flood management and preparedness in BC. The Province will continue to work with First Nations, local governments and other partners to explore approaches to updated legislation and regulations that balance public safety and risk tolerance, all toward the vision of the BC Flood Strategy.