FLOOD RISK
Flood risk in the Lower Fraser is the result of historic land use decisions, aging infrastructure, and a changing climate. Addressing it now requires rethinking how we manage floodplains to better protect communities, ecosystems, and the region’s future.
A Landscape Shaped by Water
Floods, land use, and risk through time
For thousands of years, the Lower Fraser floodplain sustained salmon, local food systems, and the cultural relationships of Coast Salish First Nations. This balance changed with colonization, as dikes, roads, and railways redirected natural waterways, concentrated flood risk, and placed disproportionate burdens on First Nations communities.
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Later, the Province shifted responsibility for flood management to municipalities, even though no local authority had the funding, capacity, or jurisdiction to manage a system as large and interconnected as the Lower Fraser. ​
Over time, fragmented decisions and aging infrastructure deepened these vulnerabilities. Climate change is now intensifying every existing weakness. The BC Flood Strategy offers a pathway forward, but its implementation remains unfunded, and communities are still waiting for guidance that aligns with UNDRIPA and supports shared governance.​​
This timeline illustrates how historical choices shaped today’s risks and why the future of flood resilience depends on region-wide collaboration grounded in shared values, community leadership, and the health of the ecosystems that sustain us.
CURRENT CHALLENGES
Flood risk in the lower Fraser is increasing, but our ability to respond is limited by aging infrastructure, historical land-use decisions, fragmented governance, and the accelerating impacts of climate change. These challenges affect communities, ecosystems, farms, cultural sites, and critical services across the region.
OUR RESPONSE
“‘How do we protect people, our region, and our economy in the most effective way possible?’
Together, this approach expands our flood management toolbox and supports collaborative, strategic, and integrated decisions for the Lower Fraser.
OUR PROGRESS
The projects below show how communities across the Lower Fraser are advancing this work: through initiatives that are completed, underway, or planned to support a stronger, shared understanding of flood risk.
Work Completed
Foundational work has expanded how risk is defined and assessed, centering First Nations’ priorities and lived realities.
🔹 First Nations–Centered Risk Methodology
🔹 Receptors of Risk Framework
🔹 Pre-Contact Fraser River Model
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Work In Progress
We’re developing shared tools to map climate hazards and understand how critical systems are connected across the region.
🔹 Regional Climate Hazard Database
🔹 Critical Infrastructure Interdependency Analysis
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What’s Next
We are continuing to co-develop methodologies, fill knowledge gaps, and strengthen collaboration across the Lower Fraser.
🔹 Data contributions
🔹 Infrastructure case studies
🔹 Working groups and opportunities
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