Whereas the majority of communities, either in whole or in part, within British Columbia are situated on floodplains; And whereas the cost of mitigating flood risk has increased to levels that are no longer affordable by Local Governments, Regional Districts or Improvement Districts: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM request the province and federal governments commit to allocate adequate funds to mitigate the flood threat to British Columbia communities and that the Province consider assuming control of, and responsibility for, flood protection and mitigation infrastructure including diking and pump stations.
Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship The Province works closely with local governments, First Nations and other partners to address flood risks. Together we strive to reduce the social, economic and ecological disruption from flooding. To support communities with adapting to and mitigating risk from flooding, the Province will continue to explore enhancements to Disaster Risk Reduction funding opportunities for First Nations and local governments and continues to advocate with the federal government to expand mitigation funding programs, such as the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund DMAF. Since 2017, the Province has invested approximately 498 million in provincial funding for disaster risk reduction projects. These investments include 558 flood hazard related projects led by First Nations and local governments, totaling over 337 million. In addition to the above funding, project approvals will soon be announced for the provincially-funded Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding DRIF program. In alignment with the BC Flood Strategy, the Province is also investing in foundational approaches to understand and share information on flood risks in a changing climate. This includes delivery of a provincial Disaster and Climate Risk and Resilience Assessment and an 8.69 million investment for flood-hazard mapping, in support of BCs Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy. This work will support decisions on floodplains and holistic local approaches to flood risk reduction that are stronger when made in the context of relationships and values at the community-level with support and guidelines from the Province. The Province is committed to continue to work collaboratively with local governments, First Nations and other partners to explore and implement a broad range of flood risk reduction options through integrated floodplain management planning.