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Image Credit: Frontiers in Conservation Science
By James Peters
Flood Mitigation

Potential re-flooding of Sumas Lake more complicated, costly than UBC article states: City of Abbotsford

Jun 21, 2024 | 10:43 AM

ABBOTSFORD — An engineering firm contracted by the City of Abbotsford has identified significant gaps in a University of British Columbia article that contemplates the re-creation of Sumas Lake.
The article, entitled ‘Reclaiming the Xhotsa: climate adaptation and ecosystem restoration via the return of Sumas Lake,’ was published earlier this month in the journal Frontiers in Conservation Science.
It argues Sumas Lake was drained in 1924 without consulting local Indigenous communities and says allowing the lakebed to re-flood would not only be a step toward reconciliation, but a less expensive form of flood mitigation for the region.
In a news release issued Thursday (June 20), the City of Abbotsford says it hired engineering firm Kerr Wood Leidal (KWL) to review the article and comment on the article’s conclusions. KWL‘s work has previously informed the city’s Long-Term Flood Mitigation Plan.
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Responding to the journal article, KWL said “the article’s assessment of the potential costs for retreat from the former lake bottom area is grossly underrepresented.”
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It also noted the authors seem to have little knowledge of flood mitigation work already underway, including the Sumas River Watershed Flood Mitigation Plan and Nooksack River Transboundary Flood Initiative processes.
The city says it is making KWL‘s report public “to ensure that the public can engage in a fulsome understanding of the complexities involved in addressing the serious flooding concerns and extreme climate impacts related to the rivers, waterways and flood infrastructure of Sumas Prairie.”
The document can be read here.
by James Peters
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