The City of Delta will still have to come up with $11.4 million for two major flood protection projects following a recent announcement of a big federal contribution.
Council recently authorized moving ahead with a funding agreement that will see two new drainage pump stations built with a current estimated total cost of $19 million, with the federal government contributing $7.6 million.
The city last year applied for funding under the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) for construction of the 84th Street and Silda Drainage Pump stations. The grant requirements include the federal government providing 40 per cent of the estimated cost and projects must be completed by 2032.
A staff report notes that the detailed design and environmental permitting for the 84th Street Drainage Pump Station is complete, and construction is anticipated to commence in 2025. It would be located along the 84th Street alignment at the centre ditch with associated piping and outfall works installed south to Boundary Bay.
The new pump station will service approximately 1,200 hectares of low-lying area that includes industrial, agricultural and transportation corridors.
The city previously applied for funding for the pump station under a different program but was turned down.
Meanwhile, the Silda Drainage Pump Station is currently in the preliminary design phase with construction anticipated to commence in 2027.
That proposed pump station would be located near 9800 River Road and is to alleviate long-term flooding concerns in the vicinity of the Highway 91/17 interchange as well as service upcoming industrial developments in the area, including the MK Delta industrial development.
Property acquisition discussions for the pump station site are currently underway.
The pump station projects have been included in upcoming city capital plans, the report notes, adding Delta would be responsible for the projects going over budget.
The DMAF is a 10-year, $2 billion program for community climate risk projects. In 2021, approximately $1.375 billion was allocated for small-scale projects, which are in the $1 million-to-$20 million range, and large-scale projects more than $20 million, with 40 per cent federal government cost-sharing.
