The City of Delta has issued a request for proposals for a contractor to undertake upgrades for a section of the Boundary Bay Dike.
The site is located south of the Boundary Bay Airport, just east of a Delta pump station.
The project consists of raising a 200-metre section of the dike to two different elevations. The dike’s current crest elevation is 3.4-metres.
The dike is to raise to 4.1-metres, with a section in the centre of the project area being raised further to a crest high of 4.7-metres.
The Union of BC Municipalities contributed funding towards the project, which is to be completed by May 2024.
The city notes traffic disruptions on 72 Street, 88 Street and the Boundary Bay Dike access path are expected to be kept to a minimum.
The city has also issued a separate request for proposals for upgrades to the Beharrell Drainage Pump Station at the dike near 96 Street.
Meanwhile, the cities of Surrey and Delta have partnered with the Semiahmoo First Nation on an innovate pilot project, the Mud Bay Nature-based Foreshore Enhancements Project, to create a natural “living dike” by adding sediment and planting native salt marsh species on the foreshore.
Surrey’s project is located along the shoreline west of Mud Bay Park, south of Highway 99, and will extend approximately 790 metres along the foreshore.
In Delta, a 250-linear-metre section of raised salt marsh will be built at the foreshore along Boundary Bay near 96th Street.
The salt marsh may be able to absorb wave energy reducing the overall wave height that will assist in reducing the dike design elevation and possibly lengthen the timelines for dike raising activities, according to Delta’s engineering department.
Construction is anticipated to take place between 2025 and 2027.
The project is valued at $1.4 million and is funded in part by the Province of B.C. and the Government of Canada through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
On another front, the B.C. government, continues to work on a provincial flood strategy, with a draft strategy to be completed in 2024.
According to the City of Delta, the estimated cost for extensive dike upgrades and seismic improvements to protect the Delta community is at more than $1.9 billion.
