To help strengthen resilience against climate-related hazards, the Province is providing funding to the Town of Golden for two projects to reduce the threat of flooding in the community.

The $1.24-million project raises dikes along the Kicking Horse River to up to one metre above the one-in-200-year flood elevation. The improvements will take place along Fisher Road as an earthen dike, and near the downtown area adjacent to the Highway 95 bridge as a concrete flood wall. Ice jams during the winter and high water during the summer have threatened flooding in Golden over the past several years. The project includes rock armouring, dike face reshaping, vegetation removal and restoration, and fish habitat restoration.

“British Columbians are concerned about the increasing effects of climate change and the emergencies we’re already experiencing – like drought, flooding, extreme heat and wildfires,” said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness. “By funding local, on-the-ground projects, our government is helping First Nations and local governments protect their communities and keep people safer from future emergencies.”

Golden will also receive $135,000 to complete a water strategy that will evaluate climate-related risks on water infrastructure and inform water demand management and conservation.

“We have all seen the effects of climate change across the province, reinforcing the importance of building resilience to climate change in our communities,” said Ron Oszust, mayor of Golden. “This funding will help support Golden in developing an updated integrated water plan, making sure our infrastructure and systems can continue to provide clean drinking water to our community now and well into the future and support the completion of important improvements to the Kicking Horse River dike to protect Golden from the risks of river flooding.”

The Province is providing a total of approximately $5 million to several communities through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) under the Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Adaptation stream. These investments also support the Province’s Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy, which outlines a broad range of actions until 2025 to address adverse climate effects and build resilience throughout B.C.

In February 2023, the Province provided $180 million to CEPF, bringing the total provincial investment in the program to $369 million since its establishment in 2017. More than $165 million has been provided to First Nations and local governments through CEPF for approximately 1,600 projects that help communities prepare for disasters and climate-related emergencies. The CEPF is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities on behalf of the Province.

In response to the growing number of climate-related emergencies in B.C., the Province also launched ClimateReadyBC, which provides mapping tools, risk data and resources to help communities better prepare and reduce the risk from disasters and climate emergencies.

Intake for the current Disaster Risk Reduction-Climate Adaptation stream will be open until March 28, 2024.

Learn More:

For information about the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, visit: https://www.ubcm.ca/cepf

For information about disaster and climate-risk reduction, visit ClimateReadyBC: https://www.ClimateReadyBC.ca

To learn about the Climate Preparedness and Adaptation Strategy, visit: http://www.gov.bc.ca/BC-Adapts