Farms, homes, roads, wildlife in Surrey, B.C., under threat from rising water levels

With roughly 20 per cent of land in Surrey, B.C., sitting on a coastal floodplain threatened by climate change, the city is preparing for rising water levels that could severely damage residential neighbourhoods, businesses, natural habitats and infrastructure.

Mayor Linda Hepner says work is underway on a Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy that will help determine what kind of mitigation work needs to be done immediately and what can be put off into the distant future.

"We do have an effective system that works well today but some of those key drainage features that are protecting us were developed more than 100 years ago," Hepner said.

"They didn't anticipate the demands that are going to be exercised with the climate change that we see now."

Large swaths of farmland, 400 homes, transmission lines, gas pipelines, public parks, beaches and countless habitats for wildlife all sit on the floodplain, according to a city report.

Damage to roads and highways could jeopardize the estimated $25 billion in truck and rail freight traffic that passes through the affected area each year.

Expensive fix

A report by the engineering firm Delcan suggested that Metro Vancouver may have to spend $9.5 billion on flood protection by the year 2100.

The 2012 report singled out Mud Bay in Surrey as one of the areas that will require new infrastructure to prevent flooding.

Hepner says she's consulting with residents, stakeholders and experts to determine which upgrades and new projects, such as dikes and sea gates, will be necessary.

"I would call it advanced planning," she said.

"Given that we have the largest flood control system in all of British Columbia, we are proactively ensuring that our citizens understand what impacts the effects of climate change could have on our community."

Saving Surrey

Arnold Wieners, whose family has owned Winners Holstein Farms close to the dike near 68 Avenue and 168 Street for 40 years, wants a say in how the city protects farmland.

"I'm very concerned about climate change and that's why we wanted to take part in the focus groups and try to figure out how we can mitigate the potential changes," he said.

"We're just one farm with three households on it, so we're not that big of a deal in the grand scheme of the residents of Surrey, but my big thing is food security."

Wieners' daughter, Rebecca Senicar, has returned home from university in Saskatchewan to help him run the business and they have both been providing feedback to the city.

"Farming in the middle of the city, to still be able to do that, it's amazing," she said.

"It's going to be a problem for me and future generations, like my kids, so I want to be part of the solution if I get the opportunity."

Protecting wildlife

The Fraser River delta has the highest density of wintering waterfowl in the country, so Surrey is also consulting with Ducks Unlimited Canada.

Conservation programs specialist Matt Christensen says the city needs to be proactive to protect natural habitats for wildlife.

"When we look at these forecasts of sea level rise, we have to think about whether there is going to be habitat available for them in the future, and what will that look like?" he said.

"Look for options that are sustainable into the future and look at the costs and the benefits for all of the components."