Whereas communities across British Columbia face increasing flood risks due to climate change, extreme weather events, and aging dike infrastructure currently present an unacceptable level of risk to many communities necessitating proactive flood protection measures; And whereas in 2024 the province put forward From Flood Risk to Resilience: a BC Flood Strategy to 2035 that highlights the need for adaptive and practical flood risk management solutions, yet many local governments face financial constraints that prevent them from fully upgrading dikes to provincial standards which require costly upgrades that may delay urgent flood protection measures: Therefore be it resolved that UBCM urge the Province of British Columbia to amend dike policies to allow interim dike upgrades that are part of a plan to achieve all provincial dike standards, provide practical and meaningful flood protection, serving as a step toward full compliance as funding allows in recognition of both the short-term need to reduce existing risk to communities and the long-term need for the highest standards of flood protection.
Ministry of Water, Land and Resource Stewardship Flood risk in British Columbia is increasing due to climate change, particularly with respect to extreme precipitation, flood timing and atmospheric rivers. Flooding remains 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 Province continues to advance the BC Flood Strategy, within funding limitations, which outlines 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. In light of this, the Province has been advancing work to modernize flood hazard mapping and providing hazard mitigation funding to communities. 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, regulations and policies that balance public safety and risk tolerance, all toward the vision of the BC Flood Strategy. While the Province works to advance the BC Flood Strategy, the Inspector of Dikes office continues to work with communities to seek paths to permitting community scale flood mitigation plans in alignment with Ministry policies and guided by the Dike Maintenance Act. Ensuring public safety, community resilience to flood events and healthy robust infrastructure remains the priority within diking legislation, policy and guidance.