
UBC scientists call for Sumas Prairie land in Abbotsford to be bought and restored to Sumas Lake
FRASER VALLEY — The University of British Columbia issued a news release earlier this week in which a research paper calls for Sumas Lake to be returned to its natural state through the purchase of existing land, a solution they say is cheaper than flood mitigation efforts.
According to the recommendations of a research paper, scientists at UBC, along with members of the Sumas First Nation and other research partners, suggest that it’s cheaper to buy the land, estimated at $1 billion, versus the projected cost of $2.4 billion of repairing dykes in Sumas Prairie and constructing a new pump station.
UBC touted the study as a pioneering proposal in response to the November 2021 floods that swept Sumas Prairie in the Fraser Valley, resulting in mass evacuations and hundreds of millions in damages.
Instead of rebuilding the dykes to manage water flows and prevent future floods, policy advisors at UBC argue that it’s better to let Sumas Lake, which was drained in the early 1920s and converted into the farmland known as Sumas Prairie, return to its natural state.