Nrcan by Newfoundland and Labrador Environmental Industry Association

Adaptation Platform Webinar Series / Programme des webinaires de la Plateforme d’adaptation

Preparing Your Coast for a Changing Climate: Tools and Lessons Learned

Préparer votre côte aux changements climatiques : outils et leçons

Monday, March 24, 2014 2:00-3:30 EDT.

Le lundi 24 mars 2014 de 14 h 00 à 15 h 30 HNE.

Hosted by the Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation Division on behalf of the Adaptation Platform l

Présenté par la Division des impacts et de l’adaptation liés aux changements climatiques au nom de la Plateforme d’adaptation

Presenters / Conférencières Sarah O’Keefe, Climate Change Advisor, B.C. Ministry of the Environment

Sarah O’Keefe, Conseillère sur les changements climatiques, ministère de l'Environnement de la C.-B.

Liz Ferris, Climate Action Program Coordinator, Capital Regional District

Liz Ferris, Coordonnatrice du programme d'action climatique, . District de la capitale

Carrie Baron, Drainage & Environment Manager, City of Surrey

Carrie Baron, Gestionnaire du drainage et de l’environnement, Ville de Surrey

Thank-you / Merci Adaptation@NRCan.gc.ca Adaptation@RNCan.gc.ca Mary-Ann.Wilson@NRCan.gc.ca Thomas.White@gov.bc.ca

Preparing Your Coast for a Changing Climate: Tools and Lessons Learned Adaptation Platform Webinar March 24th, 2014

Overview Purpose: This webinar will provide an overview of the experience tackling an adaptation challenge on the west coast of Canada. Outline: • Experience of British Columbia • Drivers of Action – Sea Level Rise on B.C. Coasts • Progress/Lessons Learned – Guidelines, Costing Estimates & Primer

• Experience of Local Governments • Victoria • Surrey

Driver: Sea Level Rise • Sea level rise will continue for the foreseeable future and the rate will likely accelerate.

• Failure to plan appropriately will result in large and unnecessary costs; and

Regional Sea Level Rise Location Prince Rupert Queen Charlotte City Bella Bella Port Hardy Campbell River Tofino Vancouver Richmond

Relative SLR (m) Global SLR = 1m 0.95 0.79 0.78 0.76 0.62 0.75 0.89 1.20

Driver: Visualizing Impacts Collaborative for Advanced Land-Use Planning “Hold the line” scenario shows wider and higher dike. Dashed lines show location of existing street.

Build up” scenario shows individual property adaptations for higher and more frequent floods.

Photo credit: Tina Neale

Driver: Visualizing Impacts King Tides Photo Initiative

Photo credit: Tina Neale

Driver: Local Communities • Provincial government can publish guidelines for flood area land use management. • Local Governments given authority to manage flood hazards in 2003 by: – – – – –

Considering Provincial guidelines Designating flood hazard areas and developing bylaws Establishing setbacks and flood construction levels Requiring engineering reports Establishing requirements for subdivision in flood-prone areas

Every coastal community is unique - risk management will be most effective when tailored to local circumstances.

Photo credit: Michael Wigle

Photo credit: Evan Leeson

Driver: Framework for Action 1. Investments in science and decision support tools with a regional focus.

2. Consider climate change impacts in planning and decision making across government. 3. Assess risks and implement priority adaptation actions in key climate sensitive sectors.

Drivers of Action 1. Existing research and initiatives. 2. Access to funding for research and pilot projects. 3. Innovative tools and communications. 4. Policy leadership and champions.

Progress 1. On-line storm surge forecasting 2. Guidelines for coastal flood hazard planning and construction of sea dikes (2011) 3. Coastal floodplain mapping guidelines (2011) 4. SLR Costing study for Metro Vancouver (2012) 5. SLR Adaptation Primer for local governments (2013) 6. Coastal Flood Policy Review (Ongoing)

Progress: Storm Surge Model

Progress: Sea Dike Design Guidelines

~3-5m

Includes SLR, wind set-up, storm surge, and wave run-up.

Coastal Flood Hazard Land Use

Sea Level Rise Planning Areas

Progress: Coastal Floodplain Mapping Guidelines

Progress: Metro Vancouver Costing Study • 125 km of dikes • 300K people • $25 – 50 Bn exposed assets • $ Bn to upgrade for sea level rise by 2100

Progress: Sea Level Rise Primer Protect Accommodate Avoid Retreat

• Sea walls, dykes • Scour protection • Dune building, Beach nourishment • Flood Construction Levels • Wet flood proofing, floatable or elevated homes • Flood storage areas • Land use restrictions, Zoning • Land acquisition, Land trust • Transfer of development rights • Easements • Land acquisition • Wetland restoration

• Adaptation planning framework • Information gathering and public engagement • 21 adaptation tools • Planning • Regulatory • Land use change • Structural • Non-structural • Application, advantages and disadvantages • Economic, environmental, social and considerations

21.

Protection

Structural Tools

Elevation

Structural Tools

12.

Land Use

Regulatory Tools

Covenants

Land Use Tools

Progress: Coastal Flood Policy Review

Coastal Flood Policy Review

Progress

Lessons Learned • Describing and visualizing regional impacts helped communities understand the problem. • Specific guidance on what to plan for simplified decision-making by local governments. • Injections of funding boosted the existing capacity of governments at the provincial, regional and local levels. • Collaboration and leadership at different levels of government and intermediaries contributed to innovation.

Sea Level Rise Planning in the Capital Regional District Liz Ferris, Climate Action Coordinator March 24th, 2014

Capital Regional District

CRD Sea Level Rise Risk Assessment Phase 1: (Fall 2013-Spring 2014)

Conduct a coastal risk assessment of sea level rise for the Capital Regional District.

Phase 2: (Spring 2014-Winter 2014)

Develop a model bylaw will provide the Capital Regional District and other coastal communities throughout the Province of BC with a regulatory tool that best suits the sea-level rise challenge.

Driver: Climate Action in the CRD • Assisting local governments in developing and implementing emissions reductions and climate adaptation policies, actions and programs • Providing scientific information, data and indicators related to local and regional greenhouse gas emissions and projected climate impacts • Increasing public awareness of climate change issues and catalyzing action • Meeting our corporate climate objectives on mitigation and adaptation, including becoming carbon neutral in our operations starting in 2012. • Liaising with senior levels of government on climate change related programs, policies and legislation that impact the capital region

Driver: Municipal Flood Hazard Authority • Legislative changes to the Land Title Act and the Local Government Act as well as three other provincial statutes, in 2003 and 2004, granted local governments the authority to manage land use in flood hazard areas. • Authority was given to local governments to establish minimum setbacks from watercourses and dykes, specify minimum flood levels for habitable dwellings, businesses and the storage of goods susceptible to damage by floodwaters, and specify structural support necessary to protect buildings.

Driver: Location and Impacts

Project Methodology

• Phase 1: Mapping and Risk Assessment: • Identify and map areas that would be subject to the sea-level rise hazard; and • Quantify the hazard, describing the economic and infrastructure assets in the hazard areas, thereby providing information to support implementation of regulations and other actions.

Project Methodology

•

Detailed coastal flood mapping based on LiDAR data and geomorphological analysis of the Region’s coastline

• Focus on impacts that align with the scope of bylaw including private and public property, building footprints, municipal infrastructure and slope stability

Project Methodology

• Phase 2: Model Bylaw • Provide the Capital Regional District and other coastal communities throughout the Province of BC with a regulatory tool that best suits the sea-level rise challenge.

A Collaborative Approach • Conducted in partnership with • City of Victoria • District of Saanich • BC Ministry of Environment • Funded with a grant from NR Canada, Tides Canada, and Cash and in-Kind contributions from CRD, Victoria and Saanich • Engagement from all 13 municipalities and 3 electoral areas within the region

A Regional Approach to Sea Level Rise The benefits of coastal flood hazard mapping and risk assessment for the capital region include: •

Provision of information on areas, buildings and infrastructure most at risk from coastal flooding. This provides a significant benefit to rural electoral areas and smaller municipalities who would not otherwise have funding and resources available to undertake this type of work.

• A regional mapping product that creates a level playing field and that supports a consistent approach to management through a model bylaw and other regulatory mechanisms

Coordinating with Other Initiatives • Municipal and regional climate change adaptation plans and policies • The regional climate impact assessment of the Georgia Basin funded by local and regional governments; • Tsunami run-up mapping, describing hazard areas of a 9.0 magnitude Cascadia subduction zone earthquake; • City of Victoria eroding coast line action plan

Thank You

Photo Credits • • • • • •

Slide 1: CRD, http://www.destination360.com/northamerica/canada/british-columbia/victoria/parliament-buildings Slide 4:CRD Slide 6: victoriavision.blogspot.ca Slide 8: CRD Slide 9: BC Ministry of Environment Slide 12: District of Saanich, CRD

Preparing Coasts for Changing Climates – City of Surrey

Carrie Baron, P.Eng. Drainage & Environment Manager City of Surrey March 24, 2014

Existing Floodplain Areas in Surrey • •

•

Over 8500 ha of Surrey is currently within a floodplain area. Surrey has 54 km of shorelines Boundary Bay (32km) and Fraser River (22km) Key floodplain areas are: • Fraser River floodplain • Serpentine / Nicomekl River floodplain • Campbell River floodplain • Boundary Bay floodplain There are approximately 100 km (63 miles) of dykes, 30 drainage pump stations, 2 sea dam structures, over 170 flood boxes and 10 spillways

Distinct Floodplain Areas Fraser River dyke protected area – Fraser freshet and Coastal dyke behind dyke area – storm floods surge events Crescent Beach dyke area – storm surge events & Campbell River groundwater undyked – storm surge & rainfall events

Fraser River unprotected area – Fraser freshet Serpentine & Nicomekl River lowlands – lower sections surge events or longer duration high tides, upper reaches rainfall events, middle reaches influenced by both factors 24

Climate Change Impacts Climate Change will affect different areas in different ways. The flood management approach for the various flood prone areas will also differ based on exposure, land use, infrastructure, land ownership and the ability of a local government to fund the protection works. Following are examples of some of projects recently completed and/or underway within the City which referenced Provincial research and guidance documents.

Fraser River

Dyke Components • 3.9 km of Concrete Floodwall • 1.4 km of Earth dyke • 2.3 km of raised ground and temporary earth dykes • 16 Crossing Structures

Unprotected area includes: • New highway - SFPR • Barnston ferry terminal • CN intermodal yard • CN operations building and machine shop

Crescent Beach Is a small community in Surrey of 1240 residents in 433 properties. The combined property values in this small community are in excess of $400,000,000.

Sea Level Rise Concerns • • • • • •

Frontage aspect plays a big role Event driven – hours/days Groundwater directly impacted by surge Salt water intrusion Limited space to construct dyke – will impact foreshore Provincial studies on sea level rise and cost of adaptation have been important information sources

Flood Construction Levels

2100 Flood Level 2010 Flood Level

To meet Provincial guidelines, need to have homes at times of redevelop built to FCL levels. The current existing FCL for area is 3.6m. The potential FCL for area is approximately 5-6m. Current lot elevations range from 0.7m to 3m with most being about 1.5m. The provincial documents which explain alternative methods of flood-proofing are often referenced to home owners wishing to reconstruct.

Climate Change Review and the Serpentine, Nicomekl & Campbell Rivers

Serpentine, Nicomekl & Campbell Rivers •

Serpentine River

•

Nicomekl River

Serpentine & Nicomekl Rivers are controlled by Sea dams. Upstream is fresh water while downstream is brackish SLR will affect coastal dyking, opening of sea dams, salt water intrusion & agricultural capabilities, major infrastructure Vulnerable infrastructure includes: • CP Rail, BNSF, Southern Rail • Highways 99, 10 & 15 • Metro Vancouver SS Interceptor & water service to south Surrey

Campbell River

River Meets the Sea The provincial work focused on ocean forecasts but did not address the transition of rivers meeting the sea. In these areas, the combination of rainfall and sea level/surge level is critical. Overall system design and hydraulics play a large role in determining floodplain area.

Study Results – Coastal Impacts 2010 to 2100 results – Elgin Village • Existing DCE = 3.3m • 2010 DCE = 3.51m • 2100 DCE = 4.74m (all heights relative the current mean sea level)

Sheltered area on Nicomekl River

Study Results – Coastal Impacts 2010 to 2100 results – Crescent Beach North • Existing DCE = 2.90m • 2010 DCE = 3.95m • 2100 DCE = 5.63m Semi-exposed area to Bay ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 2010 to 2100 results – Colebrook West • Existing DCE = 3.15m • 2010 DCE = 3.87m • 2100 DCE = 6.76m Exposed area of the Serpentine River

Study Results – River Impacts

Impacts to Flood Protection in 2100 • • • •

200 year events become <2 year events (lower reaches) All coastal dykes are too low with some requiring a 3m+ extension River dykes will need to be reassessed for each flood cell and spillway design. Most will be too low. Of the 13 bridges on the rivers, 3 will be completely submerged and 7 will be partially submerged – none have been designed for these scenarios.

Surrey’s Climate Adaptation Strategy

Reducing Risk Through Planning – Official Community Plan Update PlanSurrey 2014 Official Community Plan Review

Preliminary design work underway •

•

• •

Sea dam replacement – original sea dams constructed in the early 1900s and nearing end of service life – looking at replacement considering seismic, flood control and sea level rise in the design Fraser River Dyke upgrades and extensions – have improved 2 segments of historic dykes to current flood standards – continuing with other works Nicowynd dyke enhancements for SLR Dam Breach modelling for Serpentine & Nicomekl Rivers in preparation for potential new federal floodplain mapping guidance

Regional Context Through the Joint Program Committee of the Fraser Basin Council, Surrey and numerous other local governments, Port Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Airport Authority, key industries, large utilities companies, provincial and federal governments, are looking at developing a regional approach to flood management. The region extends from Squamish to Hope.

Questions?