Posted on October 16, 2017
By Sandor Gyarmati, Delta Optimist
Delta is hoping a new provincial government will take a leadership role when it comes to river dredging.
Civic politicians agreed last week to send a letter to Premier John Horgan and Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resources Doug Donaldson asking the province to initiate a 10-year maintenance dredging program for the secondary channels of the lower Fraser River in conjunction with the federal government and the Vancouver Fraser Port Authority.
Back in 2012, Delta entered into a joint $10-million funding program with the province, the port authority and the City of Richmond to dredge channels around Ladner and Steveston. Work was completed in February 2015.
A residual $1.5 million of port and provincial funds was allocated for the Ladner channels, so a new program was started that included the port monitoring sediment accumulation in the channels and undertaking targeted dredging in problematic areas.
A Delta staff report notes that, on the whole, the channels are still in relatively good condition in terms of navigability.
However, the report also notes there are three problem areas where sediment tends to accumulate naturally — the entrance to Deas Slough, the entrance to Ladner Harbour and the north end of Sea Reach. It’s estimated it would cost $94,000 to dredge those areas.
Delta officials met with federal government officials in Ottawa earlier this year to discuss the dredging issue and, according to the staff report, the consistent message was the need for a collaborative approach to dredging, in particular the need for provincial government leadership.
Coun. Ian Paton, who’s also the MLA for Delta South, told council he’s been given the green light for a meeting with Donaldson on Nov. 2 along with representatives of the Ladner Sediment Group.
It will build on previous meetings involving the Corporation of Delta, the Ladner Sediment Group and Delta MP Carla Qualtrough.
Until 1998, dredging of all channels was a federal responsibility. In 1999, the port authority took over dredging of the main navigational channel, which saw silt build up in the secondary channels.
The volunteer Ladner Sediment Group had been lobbying for years to rectify the situation and finally saw some success with the announcement of the project to dredge the channels in Ladner and Steveston a few years ago.
Delta is now looking for long-term funding options as there’s no designated money for future dredging.
Source: Delta Optimist
