When the combined might of a king tide and a storm surge blanketed some parts of downtown Squamish in floodwater from Howe Sound, questions were raised about who was responsible for protecting private property.
Some businesses saw water seep into their establishments, in some cases causing damage to their property. The flood also appeared to have partially submerged the ground level of some houses.
On Tuesday, John Buchanan, the local who called in the flood to emergency services, told The Squamish Chief that it would be wise for the District to sandbag the area in case the flood returned.
“What would be useful is if the District of Squamish sandbagged the Loggers Lane from the small boat harbour over to Cattermole Slough,” he said at the time.
While the floods luckily haven’t reappeared since then, it has raised questions about who is responsible for protecting locals’ property in case of a disaster. Are authorities obligated to protect residents’ houses and business establishments when a disaster sweeps the town? If so, which ones?
During the weather event, the District announced that it had opened up a self-serve sandbag station, and urged people to fortify their property in case another flood occurred.
However, aside from that, the municipality was not directly involved in protecting private property.
“I guess this parallels the salt giveaway in the City of Vancouver of 2016,” said Andy Yan, the director of SFU’s City Program. “I think it goes into the idea that, you know, for whatever responsibilities municipalities have on issues like this — do they have the capacity?”
He said the event was a hybrid — a short-term flow emergency that likely has a link to long-term climate change.
“Municipalities certainly do have a role in terms of life safety, like… the fire department, and then co-ordinating with public safety and law enforcement,” said Yan. “And I think that that is one of the big challenges, because there's of course the immediate event, like flooding. But then also the long-term issues around: how much of this is infrastructure? How much do you now need to consider being at the intersection of both the Squamish River and Howe Sound, where you are exposed?”
It also begs the question of how much individuals, as opposed to institutions, have a role to play in this matter, he said.
For the immediate flooding event, the District told The Squamish Chief in a written statement that it’s in charge of roads, infrastructure and public safety.
The municipality does pump water and clear drainage systems, the statement said.
However, when it doesn’t appear the District will be helping out private individuals or businesses directly.
“Property owners are responsible for minimizing damage to private property,” reads the statement by David Roulston, manager of the municipal infrastructure department. “To assist property owners, the District makes a self-serve sandbag station available for those who may need it.”
The municipal statement also urged people to read a flood preparedness guide from the province.
When it comes to providing direct assistance to private individuals and businesses, it doesn’t appear as if the province will do much more than the District.
The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness issued a statement to The Squamish Chief on this matter.
“First Nations and local authorities hold primary responsibility for flood response and the protection of properties within their jurisdiction,” the statement reads.
“The Emergency Program Act supports First Nations and local authorities to have direction and control of emergency response within their jurisdiction. The province may provide flood assets to First Nations and local authorities as requested and needed to support flood response.”
The ministry also added that First Nations and local governments have the authority under the Emergency Program Act to implement their local emergency plans, including preparation, response and recovery.
The province is ready to support the District if required, the statement said.
— Why didn’t diking stop the tide? —
When it comes to infrastructure, there have at least been a few questions raised with respect to the diking around the downtown core.
Locals have noted that the District has had signage in the downtown area by the canoe shelter saying it intends to build the Xwu'nekw Park Sea Dike.
The municipality has been publicly discussing the project as far back as 2019.
Construction on this project has yet to begin, though the $11.6-million project was the most expensive single item listed on the 2023 budget.
A local geoscientist said that there are issues with constructing commercial space in the downtown area, which appears to be at risk of flooding.
“The Squamish Floodplain Management Plan has a “downtown exemption area” that allows for commercial use at ground level; whereas, all habitable space must be lifted to the flood construction level (FCL) which is five [metres] [above sea level,]” wrote Pierre Friele in an email to The Squamish Chief.
By Friele’s estimation, the old sea dike, a collection of adhoc high terrain ringing downtown, has a crest elevation of roughly 3.3 metres above sea level. The future sea dike will be 5.6 metres tall, with the difference to be achieved gradually through time.
“Why allow lots of commercial space to be developed below FCL before there has been any incremental mitigation of the coastal flood hazard. Is that not the cart before the horse; tax before service provision?” Friele wrote.
In response to this, the District confirmed the municipality has a Flood Construction Level exemption for non-residential uses in downtown.
“It's a recognition of the historical and current location of the downtown in a flood-prone area in order to preserve the character of the historic downtown core and allow universally accessible commercial spaces at grade,” Roulston said.
“If businesses in this area needed to meet the FCL, all shops and businesses would need to be on the second floor. The downtown could not exist as it currently does, and no retail/ commercial area could economically survive such design requirements. This is regulated in the District's Floodplain Management Bylaw. At this time, based on the accessibility and economic reasons provided above, reconsideration of that element of the bylaw by council is not planned.”
The District notes the lack of a sea dike surrounding the District's coastal perimeter is a “major factor” contributing to the flooding.
“The District's Integrated Flood Hazard Management Plan lays out a plan to build and upgrade the sea dike protecting downtown and surrounding area, however, there are challenges preventing short-term construction. Sea dike construction is very costly. The estimated cost of a 200-metre sea dike at Xwu'nekw Park is over $10 million. As such, the District has been opportunistically securing construction of a new sea dike as part of waterfront development,” Roulston said, adding that flood waters entered the downtown through private property where the municipality does not currently have land tenure for a dike.
With respect to one aspect of diking, the District appears to be attributing one reason for the slow progress to higher levels of government.
“The District has been working on the design and required federal permitting for Xwu'nekw Park Sea Dike since 2019,” reads the municipality’s written statement on the matter. “Permitting applications were submitted to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) in March/April 2021. The District has not yet received the federal Fisheries Act Authorization for the sea dike, which is preventing construction. The District continues to work with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to address issues related to the application in an effort to begin construction in the next fisheries window, which begins in August 2023.”
In response, the DFO confirmed the department has been working with the District since their request for project review submitted in April 2021, and on their application for a Fisheries Act Authorization submitted in January 2022.
The DFO's Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Program is a service that helps determine whether work plans will have a negative effect on fish and fish habitat.
The program’s biologists review these requests and provide advice on how to avoid and mitigate impacts, and, if necessary, issue a Fisheries Act Authorization with an offsetting plan, or issue a Species at Risk Act permit, a spokesperson for the DFO explained to The Squamish Chief in a written statement.
“The District’s application for a Fisheries Act Authorization and additional information provided most recently in November, did not meet the information requirements as set out in the Applicant’s Guide Supporting the Authorizations Concerning Fish and Fish Habitat Protection Regulations. Outstanding requirements for the District’s application to proceed include appropriate offsetting to compensate for the impacts to fish and fish habitat — per the requirements of the Policy for Applying Measures to Offset Impacts to Fish and Fish Habitat Under the Fisheries Act,” the spokesperson said.
Once the program receives all the information to meet the application requirements, it will continue the review process, which includes Indigenous consultation.
— Development on flood hazard areas —
Regarding development in Squamish’s floodplain, the District said all new developments in the floodplain are required to have flood assessments, which identify the risks involved.
These risks are then registered on title with a restrictive covenant that stipulates flood mitigation measures that must be implemented for the development, such as build’s height in relation to the flood construction level. It also notifies property owners of flood risk, and indemnifies — protects against legal liability — the District in the event of flood damage.
The presence of flood covenants are particularly relevant in the case of The Main, on 37881 Cleveland Avenue.
This residential-commercial facility was impacted by floods when the king tide swept in on Tuesday.
A Section 219 covenant is in place for the building. This is the municipality’s standard flood covenant requiring all residential habitable areas and storage of goods damageable by flood water to be above the flood construction level.
At one point, water rose up, submerging the sidewalk and entering the building’s ground floor in some cases.
For example, Climb On Equipment, which resides in the building, had to temporarily close its doors in order to deal with the encroachment of water.
The District told The Squamish Chief that a report to council in October 2016 stated the recommended flood construction level for The Main is five metres. All habitable areas are to be above the flood construction level.
However, the municipality’s statement noted the report said the commercial zone and part of the parkade are located below the flood construction level.
— What’s a tenant to do if they’ve been affected by the flood? —
Mike Young, owner of Dynamic Property Management, which manages The Main, said that the first step people need to do is get in contact with their insurer when their property has been flooded.
“Typically, when issues like this occur, the property owner and the occupants would contact their insurance companies, and they would determine the next steps,” said Young.
Young couldn’t comment specifically on this case, but provided some general ideas on how insurance costs are divvied up.
“All of the tenants’ improvements would probably fall under the tenants’ insurance — inventory, or that sort of thing would fall under their own insurance,” he said.
Damage to walls, ceiling, floors, to the actual building — not including tenants’ improvements — generally would fall under the property owners’ insurance, Young added. But that would be dependent upon what their commercial lease says.
For those living in stratas, damage to the exterior of buildings usually falls under the strata corporation’s insurance, he said.
-With files from Andrew Hughes
**Please note that this story has been updated since it was first posted. Originally, District statements were attributed to a municipal communications staffer. While the statement was sent by her, the quotes and information are from David Roulston,, manager of municipal infrastructure. Thus, attribution has been changed.
