WHAT IS RESILIENT WATERS?
Resilient Waters reconnects salmon habitat to the mainstem Fraser through flood infrastructure improvements in the lower mainland. We offer a capacity boost, expertise, and resources where the need to replace infrastructure aligns with salmon and community needs.
Why Does it Matter
At the beginning of the most prolific salmon river in the world, over 1,500 kilometers of crucial habitat are blocked by aging floodgates, pumps, and dikes. Many of these structures need to be upgraded or modified to prepare communities for climate change impacts, particularly flooding and sea level rise. First Nations are hit hardest with loss of food security and flooding of communities and cultural sites. Farmers and the local food we rely on are also increasingly at risk from flooding.
Resilient Waters is an intervention to address these overlapping issues by bringing together all who are affected to generate transformative solutions to benefit salmon, ecosystems, and communities.
HOW WE ARE DOING IT
FIXING FLOOD INFRASTRUCTURE FOR SALMON AND COMMUNITIES
We are working to identify and advance high priority opportunities collaboratively with First Nations and Local Governments. Our objective is to remove or upgrade flood infrastructure to allow fish passage and reduce flood risk at sites that are most important to salmon and communities.
Watershed Watch Salmon Society's Connected Waters campaign revealed 1500 km of disconnected waterways adjacent to the Fraser River blocked by 156+ aging flood control infrastructure like pump stations, flood boxes, and dikes.
