The province has announced it is providing $750,000 for the construction of a new flood gate on Canada Avenue.
The new flood gate, which is part of a new approximately $1.9-million flood mitigation plan that is also being funded by the Municipality of North Cowichan and the City of Duncan, is intended to better protect the south end of North Cowichan and the City of Duncan from the impact of flooding.
RELATED STORY: NORTH COWICHAN PURSUES NEW FLOOD MITIGATION PLAN FOR CANADA AVENUE
“People in our community have been greatly disrupted by the impact of flooding in recent years,” said Doug Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan.
“This project will help mitigate the impacts of localized flooding so that people can rest assured their properties and livelihoods are better protected.”
Funding for the initiative, called the Canada Avenue Flood Gate, Road and Drainage Upgrade Project, is being provided through the province’s Community Emergency Preparedness Fund.
In November, North Cowichan’s council gave its staff the green light to move forward with a proposal for the $1.9-million project that would include the construction of a new flood gate system across Canada Avenue and raising sections of the roadway near the RCMP detachment, which should avoid the nearly annual problems with localized flooding on the roadway.
RELATED STORY: BUSINESSES FRUSTRATED BY CANADA AVENUE FLOOD CLOSURE IN DUNCAN
At the time, Clay Reitsma, North Cowichan’s senior manager of engineering, said in a staff report that the Union of BC Municipalities had recently announced a new flood-funding intake for its Community Emergency Preparedness Fund that will finance up to $750,000 of flood mitigation infrastructure, and suggested North Cowichan and Duncan should apply for the funding.
He said the completion of the project would further improve the 200-year flood protection for the urban core area with the construction of a new flood gate system across Canada Avenue where there currently is no protection except to install sandbags or a concrete barrier system on an ad hoc basis.
RELATED STORY: NORTH COWICHAN WARNS LOCALIZED FLOODING EXPECTED IN SOME AREAS THIS WINTER
Reitsma proposed that Duncan pay 17.6 per cent of the amount expected of the municipalities if the UBCM gave the green light to North Cowichan’s funding, while North Cowichan would be responsible for 82.4 per cent of the municipalities’ share.
Duncan’s funding will help pay for the flood gate related portion of the project, while North Cowichan is allocating additional funds to raise the northbound lane on Canada Avenue due to previously existing settlement issues.
Both North Cowichan and the City of Duncan agreed to the funding formula.
robert.barron@cowichanvalleycitizen.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter