Abbotsford, B.C., levee that may have destroyed homes no longer under consideration, mayor says

Vancouver -

A two-and-a-half-kilometre levee that could have led to the destruction of 22 homes in Abbotsford, B.C. is no longer being considered, the city's mayor says.

"As with all things in an emergency situation, things are very fluid," Mayor Henry Braun said in an update Friday afternoon on the devastating flooding affecting the city.

"I need to be very clear: The levee option is no longer being considered and will not be built."

He said instead of constructing the levee to keep the former Sumas Lake from refilling, city crews have begun building a temporary replacement dike to reinforce an existing dike in time for the next anticipated rain storm.

In an update on Thursday, Braun had said he anticipated that six to 12 houses would be affected by the levee construction.

"I sense you're looking for a number, so I don't want someone to think it's 50 houses," he said at the time, in response to a reporter's question.

"One house is too much. And if it was my house, I'd be concerned, too. But there are not many options here."

On Friday, Braun clarified that there were actually 22 homes along the path of the proposed levee that would have been affected by the construction.

"They're already impacted by the (flood) water," Braun said. "They would've been impacted for a longer period of time, had we gone ahead with the levee construction."

He explained that the levee option was no longer being considered because "the conditions on the ground have changed."

"The water has equalized on both sides, so we don't have water pouring into the bowl," Braun said. "So, when we learned this new information, we had some options that we didn't have before."

The mayor said the Canadian Forces are helping with monitoring of the existing dike that holds back the Sumas River. The dike has been weakened during the recent flooding, and additional breaches may be possible, Braun said.

Two existing gaps in the dike will be repaired, as will any additional breaches that occur.

The decision to scrap the levee plan led to confusion Friday morning for farmers who had been told their properties would be affected.

“I just received word maybe five minutes ago (that) there’s not going to be a levee, so I’m not sure exactly what is going on," said Wayne DeJong, whose family has farms on Sumas Prairie.

He says his family had been prepared to sacrifice their property “for the greater good.”

DeJong lost a barn full of chickens in the flooding and had to move his cattle.

“This water from the Americans that’s come up, it is devastating,” he said.

Officials say the Nooksack River in Washington State is to blame for the flooding on Sumas Prairie.

“We’re dealing with American water and an American problem that they refuse to do anything about,” said a frustrated DeJong.

“They have to fix their problem there in order for us to be safe” he said.

Sumas Prairie is a 90-square-kilometre low-lying agricultural area in Abbotsford's southeast, and about two-thirds of it is the former Sumas Lake, Braun said.

Currently, the Sumas River flows north from the U.S. border toward the Fraser River, and dikes along its banks prevent it from refilling and reforming the Sumas Lake. The breaches in those dikes are allowing the lake to reform faster than the city's Barrowtown pump station can remove the water, according to Braun.

Asked about potential long-term solutions to the issue of flooding on Sumas Prairie, the mayor said the city's current focus is on getting the floodwaters to recede and repairing the damage left in their wake.

"We have a lot of work in front of us," Braun said. "I shouldn't say this, my staff will get mad at me, but I can see that whole structure, that whole dike, having to be repaired - not repaired, rebuilt - to a higher standard."