Washington Officials Plan to Create Flood Corridor Clearance Road to Abbotsford, BC | The Canadian News

Officials in Washington’s Whatcom County are devising a plan to buy out homes in areas of the state that are at risk of flooding from the Nooksack River, and to create a floodplain that will help divert the water to Abbotsford, BC

The proposed ‘Danger Reduction Project for 2021 Floods’ was submitted to the province’s flood control zone advisory committee earlier this month, with the intention of submitting it to the County Council this week.

If approved, it would involve “voluntary acquisitions” of properties in the flood zone, altitude assistance for adjacent areas at risk, and the creation of “floodplain flow corridors” that would clear the way for the Nooksack to reach the Sumas prairie.

“There is going to be a combination of tools needed to solve this problem,” Paula Harris, Whatcom County River and Flood Manager, told the committee on Jan. 13.

“There’s just too much water to sit everywhere, except – you know, I mean – it’s just a lot of water. Sumasmeer has always received it all. ”

Abbotsford and the Sumas Prairie – which suffered some $ 1 billion in damage last November, according to the city’s mayor – are still reeling from the impact of November’s catastrophic floods.

Crossing of Washington’s Nooksack River contributed to the breakthrough of the Sumas Dike, and the destruction of homes, farms and livestock between November 14 and 16, 2021.

Some Whatcom County officials have expressed concern about Abbotsford regarding the proposed project.

“This is exactly what Canada is desperately afraid of, is that we will make it easier for the water to get to Canada,” said local representative Thomas Brewster.

“It’s going to be a pretty problematic issue if we do not have a plan and we’re considered a highway through Sumas and straight into Abbotsford and into Lake Sumas.”

John Perry, mayor of Everson, a city south of Sumas, has suggested bringing Canadian counterparts on board in part as possible funding partners in flood mitigation. In the meeting, he also took note of the extreme loss that Abbotsford suffered last year.

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“We have to take into account the impact of sending water, so much water, by Everson, Nooksack and Sumas and then in Abbotsford in all these comparisons,” he said.

“This is probably one of the biggest conversations we should have, it’s the right place for so much of the Nooksack overflow … [Abbotsford] is a bigger city than Bellingham, and we’re sending our water there, so as it’s becoming more of an international issue, I think it’s going to change the scope of our focus and our conversations. ”

In an email, the city of Abbotsford said it was “pleased that Whatcom County is taking this situation seriously and is considering options for their local communities.”

However, the proposal underscores the city’s need for federal and provincial governments to “be at the table as we work to address solutions.”

“We know that floodwaters do not differentiate between international borders, so whatever is built to the south has a huge impact on our infrastructure requirements here in Abbotsford,” the statement said.

“It is essential that solutions are designed with our American counterparts to ensure that all our communities are protected going forward – and for us here at Abbotsford we need to understand how these solutions will be funded.”

The proposal is still in its early stages, including the search for American towns and cities for their support and interest in buying out and creating the flood.

Letters have yet to be sent to property owners in target areas, Harris said, and there is not really a “defined scope of work” to apply for grants to fund the project.

Target areas in the US include, but are not limited to, Everson, Ferndale, Marietta, Sumas, Nooksack, and Deming.

During the meeting, Jeff DeJong, another area representative on the committee, said it was not accurate to portray the plan as directing the floodwaters to Canada, noting that Sumas Prairie has a lower elevation than Everson.

“Water is going downhill, there’s not really much we can do about it when it comes to that size,” he explained. “We are going as hard as we can to try to stop it from happening, but it will go where it goes.”