‘This is also a national issue’: Eby will raise B.C. flood mitigation with PM and other premiers

As the final evacuation orders and alerts were lifted, David Eby said the province can’t prevent future disasters without help from Ottawa.

B.C.’s premier will ask Ottawa for help to stop future flooding after the Fraser Valley was hit hard again last week.

Premier David Eby said the recent floods have been “devastating.”

He intends to raise what happened in Abbotsford, including the shut-down of Highway 1 for almost 48 hours, at the upcoming first ministers meeting with the prime minister and other premiers and territorial leaders.

“This is also a national issue,” Eby said. “This is Highway 1. This is a major goods corridor for the entire country and (Canada ought to be) addressing Highway 1 stability, ensuring that it is protected from floods from Washington state.”

Flooding in Abbotsford began after Washington’s Nooksack River spilled its banks, triggering record flooding there.

The premier said he has spoken to the governor of Washington state and offered assistance.

“He offered the same to us. Fortunately, we don’t need that assistance right now. What we need is a long-term resolution of resolving the water coming over from Washington state into British Columbia, and I look forward to working with him on that challenge,” Eby said, adding that those talks wouldn’t begin until after the emergency in Washington has passed.

Abbotsford’s chamber of commerce has spent years trying to make Ottawa realize the economic consequences of flooding.

“Anytime there’s a closure to Highway 1, you’re talking about many millions of dollars in economic impact,” said Alex Mitchell, CEO of the Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce.

“What we get really concerned about is what that means for our supply chains and the long-term economic impact of these types of flooding events on our region,” she said.

Damage assessments from last week’s flood are ongoing, but in Abbotsford, a clearer picture of some of the losses is now emerging.

BC Poultry estimates 175,000 birds were lost during the flooding. Six barns were impacted.

“My parents and brother have a poultry farm right here,” said Sumas Prairie farmer Matt Dykshoorn.

“They sandbagged, did everything they could, but ultimately the water came over the foundations of the barn. So there’s nothing they could do,” he said, explaining that they lost about 30,000 birds.

Dykshoorn’s farm also flooded, with water reaching about five feet deep in some places.

He moved dozens of heifers before the floods and was cleaning flood debris Wednesday so the animals could be returned.

His milking cows were in a higher barn, and while they stayed safe, the waters prevented milk from being picked up.

“Unfortunately, we did have to dump one tank of milk because Saturday morning it was too deep to get the milk truck in,” he explained.

Businesses are also cleaning up after the floods.

“The water was three feet up in our lunch room, so we have to check to see if we have to rip the walls off; going to be mold in there if we don’t dry it off,” explained Vern Oystrick, a forklift operator with United Concrete.

He also said that the business, which shut down for about a day and a half, suffered significant damage to product.

Farmers and businesses worry about being hit by more flooding in the future.

“It’s the worry of it all the time,” said Oystrick.

Dykshoorn said he’d like to see Washington do its part to prevent the Nooksack River from flooding again.

“Our first choice is that they deal with their problems on their side of the border. I have very, very little confidence that will happen,” he said.