Richmond is hoping to receive three different grants to help protect the city against flooding and other disasters and protect its dikes.
Each of the grant programs can cover up to 100 per cent of the project costs if approved.
City council voted last week to apply to the province for $500,000 through its National Disaster Mitigation Program (NDMP).
If successful, the funding would go towards Richmond’s Steveston Island Preliminary Dike Design project, a decades-long initiative that is the next step in its dike master plan, according to a city staff report. The project would look at, for example, securing land and obtaining regulatory approvals, as well as any additional geotechnical and environmental investigations.
The city’s flood protection infrastructure includes 49 kilometres of dikes, 585 kilometres of drainage pipes and 39 drainage pump stations.
The city has also applied for $1.25 million in federal infrastructure funding (the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program’s COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream) to support disaster mitigation.
According to the staff report, these funds would be used to install five generators, including the Miller Road Drainage Pump Station, as part of a drainage pump station backup power upgrade.
Thirdly, the city is applying for a grant through the Union of BC Municipalities Community Emergency Preparedness Fund to update its dike operation and maintenance manual, which is estimated to cost $200,000.
The manual will be a record of, for example, dike design drawings, inspection reports, maintenance work and dike master plan locations.
