Delta doesn’t have $2 billion to spare.
That was the complaint raised by council during a recent discussion on what it will cost to upgrade the municipality’s dike system to handle eventual sea level rise.
Saying Delta shouldn’t be left to flounder, Mayor Lois Jackson said it’s unfair to expect the city to be left on the hook, adding the federal and provincial governments need to come to the table to begin long-term planning on the issue.
In a study six years ago, the province estimated it could cost over $1.9 billion to undertake a complete upgrade throughout Delta.
Funding what's expected to be a hugely expensive, but ultimately necessary, upgrade of the 67 kilometres of dikes and seawalls protecting Delta's residential, commercial and agricultural lands is an issue council wants to see some movement taken or at least discussed.
Having adopted guidelines that require new homes to be built 4.5 metres above sea level, Delta has already taken a number of measures, as well as taken part in a number of flood studies, while government funding has come in for a few upgrade projects.
Delta's dikes are currently between 3.4 and 4.2 metres, but there are also areas with private dikes at lower elevations.
It's estimated Delta's dikes need to be raised by at least 1.2 metres or more to meet 2100 projected levels.
It's suggested a staged dike upgrading approach be implemented, since the projected sea level rise by 2050 is expected to be around .5 metres and a full metre by 2100.
