A Steveston resident’s fears over rising waters on Dyke Road are nothing to worry about, according to the City of Richmond.
Marius Roevde contacted the Richmond News last week with pictures of flooding near Dyke and No. 2 roads, close to his home.
Roevde took the pictures during last week’s heavy rainfall, high winds and unusually high tides on the south arm of the Fraser River.
“It will be a potential flood in 30-40 houses,” said Roevde.
“It’s funny, because I told my wife this summer that it will be a problem with the water levels in a few years.
“But I didn’t think it could happen this fast. We are safe, but all the houses in the first rows are in danger.”
However, Clay Adams, spokesperson for the city, said the area in question is actually outside of the dike, so “this level of ponding was expected to occur, given higher than usual tides were predicted for mid-November.”
Even with such levels, added Adams, there “is no risk of flooding or the dikes being breached.
“The City's diking network is built to withstand a one in 500-year flooding event including king tides, storm surges and the Fraser River freshet.”
Adams said Dyke Road, which runs along the dike through that area, is at an elevation of approximately 3.4 metres, in-keeping with the City’s Flood Protection Management Strategy and Dike Master Plans.
“These are our guiding frameworks for continual upgrades and improvements to address climate change induced sea level rise,” he said.
Council, added Adams, has approved further dike improvements beyond the already completed upgrade between Gilbert Road and No. 3 Road.
These include work on the south dike between No. 3 Road and Finn Slough and between No. 9 Road and west of McMillan Way, both of which are expected to begin construction in 2021.
The city, said Adams, “continues to make progress on advancing the dike planning efforts and implementing infrastructure improvements to the flood protection system.
“This includes the Steveston Island dike concept, part of Dike Master Plan Phase One, which is the ultimate long-term flood protection alignment for Steveston. Many of the dike upgrades are completed through partnerships with developers.”
