Trudeau and Biden discussed problem of floodwaters spilling into B.C. from Wash. state

Vancouver -

The problem of floodwaters gushing from Washington state across the border into British Columbia was raised during a meeting between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and U.S. President Joe Biden last week.

The historic storm that landed earlier this month caused the Nooksack River to surge and spill over into the Washington communities of Everson, Nooksack and Sumas – and then into B.C.'s Sumas Prairie, contributing to flooding that's estimated to have caused up to $1 billion worth of damage in the City of Abbotsford.

After touring the flood-ravaged community on Friday, Trudeau said the ongoing threat of the Nooksack River spilling into Canada "was absolutely a topic of conversation" at his recent meeting with Biden.

"He expressed his concern and support for the people of British Columbia who were going through these terrible incidents," Trudeau said.

"These are the things that we are going to continue to work on together because as good neighbours, we are interwoven in a way that doesn't always respect lines drawn by people on a map."

Diking systems on both sides of the border were damaged during the intense Nov. 14 storm, which also triggered landslides, washouts and other serious impacts on an estimated 200 points along the province's highways.

The dikes along B.C.'s Sumas River were repaired by Friday, while U.S. crews were still said to be working on repairs along the Nooksack.

Officials in Whatcom County said the Nooksack River is projected to reach "moderate flood stage" on Sunday, but that the impact could be greater than normally would be expected at those levels due to levee damage.

"Sunday morning’s predicted flows are likely high enough to overtop Main Street in Everson," the county said in a statement on Friday. "The potential also exists for this to impact Sumas."

National Guard troops were also deployed to help with sandbagging efforts and provide other emergency supports in the state on Saturday.

Premier John Horgan said the catastrophic flooding experienced in British Columbia has prompted officials to rethink the province's dike management system, which is largely the responsibility of local governments.

Horgan called the decision to leave diking up to municipalities "a bad call" made by a previous government.

"The intent there was to give local control and autonomy, and I support that in principal," he said. "But the consequence of that is that local rate-payers have been asked to take on an extraordinary burden that historically had been handled by the two other orders of government."

Horgan said he discussed the need for provincial and federal funding to support those efforts, particularly as Canada braces for the ongoing impacts of climate change, with the prime minister during their meeting on Friday.