B.C. floods show need for better infrastructure

Western Canadian infrastructure is being tested by the atmospheric river that plowed through British Columbia last week, wreaking havoc with people, animals and transportation links.

More than 300 millimetres of rain fell in southern B.C. in 48 hours, the amount that on average falls over one month. Resulting damage has halted rail and commercial vehicle traffic to and from the lower mainland region of British Columbia. The toll on farmers, shippers, homeowners and the economy will take time to tally and will likely add up to billions.

This catastrophic event emphasizes the important links that bind provinces together. It has reminded us never to take them for granted.

Grain shipments from country elevators to the Port of Vancouver were already significantly behind those of last year and loss of rail movement will reduce them further, affecting farmer cash flow over a wide area. Loss of railway access will also impair movement of fertilizer and other commodities to the Prairies.

Truck transport of goods from vital Asian ports will cause more to move through the Prince Rupert port served by CN Rail, but the south may have to temporarily shift to American ports and rail lines, potentially on CP through Kingsgate in Idaho.

All major road routes through the mountains — the Trans-Canada, Highway 3, Coquihalla and Highway 99 — were blocked or washed away. Since B.C. is highly dependent on Alberta for fuel and oil, supplies of gasoline and diesel fuel by rail are key to daily operations. Those stocks were already in short supply mere days after the floods.

The bulk of meat exports from Western Canada go by truck to the Vancouver port, and those are stalled. Those trucks and thousands of others still wait for the roads to reopen.

Added to the many effects from COVID-19 that had already caused issues with port traffic to and from China, the situation is grim.

Such dramatic weather events show that old infrastructure designs cannot keep pace with the new and more violent demands placed upon them.

The B.C. flood came hard on the heels of extreme drought and high temperatures that caused wildfires, which depleted forests, their root stability and the soils’ abilities to absorb moisture as they once did.

It has shaken confidence in the reliability of routes previously counted upon for relatively unhindered passage through the mountains. Canadians, especially westerners, need to reassess our pathways to and from the world’s markets.

Rebuilding roads and railbeds ahead of winter will be challenging, but the bigger job is the engineering assessments of landforms and infrastructure undermined by this season of extreme weather. Risk assessment and mitigation require a close examination as we consider our vulnerabilities.

B.C.’s dairy and poultry is tied to production primarily located in the bottom of a former lake and protected by a system of pumps and dikes. They proved inadequate to the gargantuan challenge nature presented last week. Livestock has been lost and the fallout will be high.

Canadian infrastructure is generally built to withstand once-in-100-year events, but we have now seen too many of these anomalies. A different approach is needed.

The southern route to the coast, particularly by rail, is more vulnerable than the north. And having a single track with a single operator to Prince Rupert port facilities needs a rethink to solidify shipping options for the future.

There will be a high cost to building back better but it is necessary work.

Karen Briere, Bruce Dyck, Barb Glen and Mike Raine collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.