WHAT IS RESILIENT WATERS?
Resilient Waters supports communities to prepare for climate change and reconnect vital wild salmon habitat by advancing collaborative efforts to upgrade flood control infrastructure in the Lower Fraser watershed. We provide capacity, expertise, and resources where the need to replace infrastructure aligns with salmon and community needs. See more below on how we are doing it.
Why Does it Matter
At the beginning of the most prolific salmon river in the world, over 1,500 kilometers of crucial salmon habitat are blocked by aging floodgates, pumps, and dikes. At the same time, many of these structures need to be upgraded to prepare communities for climate change impacts including flooding and sea level rise. The increased risk of flooding and loss of salmon impact First Nations hardest with loss of food security, flooding of communities and cultural sites of significance, and limiting economic opportunity. Farmers and the local food we rely on are also increasingly at risk from flooding. Resilient Waters is a strategic intervention to address these overlapping issues collaborating with all who are affected to accelerate solutions that benefit salmon, ecosystems, and people.
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.
PROJECT UPDATES
