New Democratic Party MLA Doug Routley says the Cowichan Valley will benefit from $550,000 in new provincial funding to support recovery work from the severe impacts of the November 2021 floods.
“The damage to people’s home and local roads caused by last November’s floods highlighted how important it is to plan ahead for future floods,” said Routley, MLA for Nanaimo-North Cowichan. “This funding for planning and an early warning system for the Chemainus River floodplain will help the Cowichan Valley Regional District prepare our communities for potential flood events.”
The local governments of Abbotsford, Chilliwack, Cowichan Valley Regional District, Fraser Valley Regional District, Hope, Kent, Merritt, Mission, Princeton, and Thompson-Nicola Regional District are all receiving direct grants from the $53.6 million in provincial funding to assist in meeting the additional pressures of ongoing recovery and infrastructure planning.
The grant will assist the CVRD with costs related to flood planning and mapping for infrastructure and the development of an early warning system for the Chemainus River floodplain.
This funding is in addition to the more than $2.1 billion provided in the 2022 burdget to help people recover from the floods and wildfires of last year and to better protect communities against future climate disasters. There’s also been $228 million in federal-provincial funding provided to B.C. farmers who suffered extraordinary damages during the November floods.