Office of the Premier
ABBOTSFORD – The Barrowtown Pump Station in Abbotsford will receive significant flood-resilience upgrades in an effort to protect the area from future flooding.
The Barrowtown Pump Station is a critical piece of infrastructure to the Sumas Prairie’s flood-protection system. Originally opened in 1983, the pump station was built to pump water out of the low-lying prairie lands via the Sumas Canal and into the Fraser River but was nearly overwhelmed when flood waters breached the Sumas River dike during the atmospheric rivers of November 2021.
The City of Abbotsford is completing several key improvements to better equip the pump station to withstand severe floodwaters from the nearby Sumas and Nooksack rivers. These improvements include adding a six-metre flood wall, upgrading the debris screens and replacing the pump motors. These upgrades will ensure that the pump is better equipped to protect from future flooding events and will guard against other threats, such as debris from the Nooksack and Sumas rivers and power outages in the surrounding area.
The Province has been working closely with the City of Abbotsford throughout its recovery process, including helping to fund the design and preliminary work in spring 2023 needed for these improvements. The Province is now committing $76.6 million to support these critical upgrades to the pump station. With this latest investment, the Province has provided nearly $180 million to support Abbotsford’s recovery from the 2021 atmospheric river events to help protect people and communities for years.
“The Barrowtown Pump Station is one of the most integral parts of our community’s flood-mitigation infrastructure, and increasing Barrowtown’s capacity is critical to protecting our city during any future flooding disasters,” said Ross Siemens, mayor of Abbotsford. “Being able to start this capacity-building work is a significant step and we are grateful to the Government of B.C. for this important investment in our community, in our residents and in our businesses. As a city, we will continue advocating for the other components of our urgent flood-works plan to ensure our families, farmers, businesses and our provincial food system remain secure.”
This builds on previous support for Sumas Prairie communities, including more than 30 dike and infrastructure repairs and building a new water system that ensures reliable water service to more than 165,000 people in Abbotsford, Mission and Matsqui First Nation, as well as providing disaster financial assistance to more than 1,000 families, small businesses and farms across the province.
Floods cross jurisdictional boundaries and this work requires co-operation among multiple partners. In April 2023, the Province along with the Semá:th, Matsqui and Leq’á:mel First Nations, the City of Abbotsford and the City of Chilliwack, established the Sumas River Flood Mitigation Collaborative Framework, a multi-government agreement to support the shared work of making Sumas Prairie more resilient to flooding. The framework is supporting the design of mitigation projects in the Sumas River watershed and timely delivery of watershed recovery programs that protect infrastructure and benefit people, the environment and the farming community.
“We extend our gratitude to all those involved in fighting the good fight in ensuring the safety and security of the public,” said Chief Dalton Silver, Sumas First Nation. “Kw’as hó:y – special thanks to the Province for their efforts to collaborate with us. The upgrades to the pump station are a testament to the effort in safeguarding public well-being, and we appreciate everyone’s dedication to this essential cause.”
Additionally, in October 2023, B.C. was joined by Washington state and seven Indigenous and municipal governments in establishing the Transboundary Flood Initiative, which is addressing flood risks and restoring salmon habitat in the Nooksack and Sumas River watersheds on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border.
“Abbotsford’s Barrowtown Pump Station is a critical piece of flood-protection infrastructure for each of our communities. The City of Chilliwack is grateful to be part of the Sumas River Flood Mitigation Collaborative Framework with partners who share our goal, and we are pleased the Province recognizes the importance of this investment as we continue to work toward a safer future for our region,” said Ken Popove, mayor of Chilliwack.
Any flood mitigation approaches and designs are being developed in a collaborative forum with the Semá:th, Leq’á:mel, and Matsqui First Nations.
