Merritt Dike Replacement
In November 2021, the Coldwater River water levels rose 2.5 times higher than previously established flood levels in just a matter of hours due to an unprecedented atmospheric river.
The extreme water flows destroyed flood warning systems, overcame the existing dike infrastructure, and flooded much of the lower-lying areas of the city. (View Flood website).
As of fall 2023, temporary spot repairs have been made to the existing dikes, the bridges have been shored up and the development of some new dikes that meet modern 1 in 200-year flood standards, as identified in the Flood Mitigation Plan, are proceeding thanks to funding from the Province of BC. Two new diking projects are commencing: the Public Works Sewage Treatment Plant dike and the Claybanks RV site dike.
Construction on the Public Works dike is scheduled for summer of 2024, pending permit approvals, thanks to $2 million in funding from the BC Ministry of Emergency Management & Climate Readiness (announced February 2023). Engineering and design work is also beginning on the Claybanks RV dike, thanks to an additional $2 million in funding from the Province of BC (announced November 2023).
Dike Status
Significant work remains to protect this lower-lying section of the city from a similar extreme 1 in 200-year flood event.
Previous floodplain mapping shows 130 properties in the flood inundation zone. Today, engineering work to date is showing a potential of 1270 properties in the 200-year flood zone.
FUNDING
The Flood Mitigation Plan adopted by council in November 2022 will take an estimated $109 million to construct. This amount is beyond the internal funding ability of the City, therefore the project relies on attracting significant funding from Provincial and Federal governments. To date, the City has received a fraction of the necessary funding. Currently, the City has only received enough funding to proceed with upgrading small critical sections of dike work (mentioned above).
The City of Merritt has been lobbying both the Federal and Provincial governments for flood protection funding to upgrade the City’s dikes to modern standards and to assist with a managed retreat of some infrastructure in high-risk areas. The Province of BC has been very supportive and the City of Merritt is very grateful for the funding received to date.
The City and the Province continue to lobby the Federal government for support. Part of this work includes the City’s July 2023 proposal submission to the Infrastructure Canada Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund detailing flood-mitigation engineering requirements. As of fall 2023, Infrastructure Canada is unable to provide an estimate of the timing for a decision. At this time, the City does not have funding or a timeline for the implementation of its full Flood Mitigation Plan.
Project Plan
When funding is available, dike improvements are expected to proceed according to the plan. Projects 1.1 and 1.2 are a rebuild of the original dikes (129 and 130) to modern 1 in 200-year flood standards. Projects 1.3 and 1.4 are pump stations to allow rainwater from the city to be pumped into the river. Project 1.5 involves improvements to the Main Street bridge to meet the construction level of the new dike system.
Project 1.6, and likewise project 2.2, involve land acquisition to enable dike bank protection to be installed along its recommended footprint, as the new dike needs to be higher and wider. Projects 2.1 and 2.3 are the Public Works dike and the Claybanks dike, which are now in progress thanks to funding from the Province of BC (mentioned above).
The Houston Street dike area also needs to be bolstered to meet modern 1-in-200-year flood standards. Other dike-related projects include the reclamation of the Nicola and Coldwater River Confluence at the end of Pine Street titled the Stuwi(x) project. The riverbank also needs to be stabilized at Fir Avenue; however, this project does not currently fall under the City’s jurisdiction.
In addition to these dike improvements, the City is proceeding with the replacement of the Middlesboro Bridge, thanks again to the Province of BC.