'Not sleeping well at night': Farmers tense as flood warning issued for Sumas River

A flood warning was issued for the Sumas River Sunday afternoon as a series of storms is expected to continue to soak B.C.'s South Coast.

A flood warning is the most serious on the River Forecast Centre's three-point scale and it comes as another atmospheric river is predicted to bring heavy rainfall in the evening and through Monday.

Water levels in the Nooksack River, south of the border in Washington state, have reached "local flood stage" causing "spillover" into the Sumas River, the warning says, adding that this is expected to be "short-lived."

In 2021, the Sumas Prairie was devastated by flooding – a disaster that destroyed homes and farms, displaced residents and left thousands of animals dead.

"Flows in the Sumas River are not anticipated to pose a hazard for flooding into Sumas Prairie at this time," the river forecast centre's warning says.

"Additional hazards for overflow may be present from the incoming storm systems next week."

Since the "series of potent storms" began, the region has seen between 50 and 160 millimetres of precipitation, the warning says, noting that snowmelt due to warming temperatures is also causing river levels to rise to potentially dangerous levels.

A flood warning means "river levels have exceeded bankfull or will exceed bankfull imminently, and that flooding of areas adjacent to the rivers affected will result," the centre's website explains.

In an email to CTV News, a spokesperson for the City of Abbotsford said all four pumps at the Barrowtown Pump Station are running, and all flood boxes are open. They said city crews will remain onsite at the station 24/7 during the weather event.

“We are in communication with Whatcom County in Washington State, as well as the Province’s Emergency Management and Climate Readiness team and will continue to monitor the forecasts and watch the river levels closely,” the city wrote. “We will keep residents informed if river levels change significantly or if any actions are needed. There is high stream flows due the rain and snow melt and people are reminded to stay away from stream and river banks.”

'This is where your food comes from'

Dave Martens, a farmer on the Sumas Prairie, showed CTV News the impact of the storms on his neighbour's blueberry farm Sunday afternoon, saying the house's basement has already flooded and hundreds of acres of plants are already underwater.

"I've been farming out here in the Sumas Prairie for 35 years. We're used to getting water in the fields but with these weather events that we seem to keep getting, we seem to be faced with this more and more often," he said.

The memory of the destruction wrought on the region in 2021 is fresh for Martens and his neighbours, who worry about what the latest flood warning could mean for their homes and livelihoods.

"We're not sleeping well at night. It's been a lot of stress," Martens said.

"It's definitely nerve-racking," he continued.

Since 2021, Martens said he hasn’t seen the kind of investment in infrastructure from senior levels of government that he says would be necessary to prevent further catastrophe.

And a risk to agricultural producers on the Sumas Prairie, he says, is something that will have an impact beyond farmers, their families and their businesses.

"This is where your food comes from. We're working 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trying to provide food for people," he said.

"We need to get action on this. There's a lot of talk that's taking place, but we haven't seen the action yet."

With files from CTV News Vancouver's Michele Brunoro