DECEMBER 2016 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC


13 Climate change bigger threat than tunnel removal by PETER MITHAM


RICHMOND – Despite widespread opposition to the George Massey tunnel removal by mayors and


environmentalists, engineers addressing the water forum Metro Vancouver convened on November 3 said the agricultural impacts are likely to be limited.


The removal of the tunnel isn’t the issue, said Albert Leung, a hydrotechnical engineer with Tetra Tech EBA in Vancouver. What really matters are changes in the river’s configuration. “We all know the Massey tunnel will be removed,” he told forum participants. “It could open the door to deeper dredging.”


Critics of the tunnel’s removal – and replacement with a massive, $3.5 billion bridge – fear dredging will occur to facilitate ship movements to inland port facilities. This could allow salt water to flow further inland than it already does, limiting the intake of fresh water for agricultural uses in Delta and Richmond.


This is a particular concern of Richmond councillor Harold Steves, a member of Metro Vancouver’s agricultural advisory committee and beef farmer on the western edge of Richmond overlooking the Georgia Strait.


Steves, who recalls when fresh water used to surround all but the outer edge of Lulu Island – on which Richmond stands – already uses municipal water for many farm uses. He doesn’t want to see other farmers to the east prevented from using river water if the river is dredged.


However, Leung said that salt water already flows


Pre-owned Tractors & Equipment


JD 250 SKID STEER NEW TIRES 12-16.5 $18,500


CLAAS PU 380 GRASS PICK UP 12.5’ WIDTH $4,900


UNIFARM CW440 4 BASKET


3 PT HITCH TEDDER $3,900 NH H7550


MID PIVOT MOWER CONDITIONER 13’ CUTTING WIDTH $26,900


CLAAS 3900TC


MOWER CONDITIONER, 12.5’ CUTTING WIDTH $29,900


JD 7450 PRODRIVE SPFH 4X4 KP, 10' GRASS PU, 676 6 ROW CORNHEAD CALL FOR PRICING.


www.caliberequipment.ca


604-864-2273 34511 VYE ROAD ABBOTSFORD STORE HOURS MONDAY-FRIDAY, 8-5 CLOSED SATURDAYS


Look to CLAAS for all your hay and forage needs and experience success across the entire harvesting chain. The CLAAS family of prod- ucts offers rugged durability and continuous reliability. CLAAS balers and hay tools have been leading the way with innovative technology and an unparalleled range of features suitable for any size operation.


CITY OF SURREY


This spring, for example, the peak flow rate of the Fraser at Hope was 6,000 cubic metres a second but at the height of summer, the flow rate was less than half that.


The long-term outlook is for an average flow of less than 2,000 cubic metres a second.


This could eliminate the availability of fresh water in east Delta and east Richmond.


“We’re in a marginal position at times as it is,” said Bruce May, a cranberry grower who farms on both sides of the river.


as far inland as the Pattullo bridge, which connects New Westminster and Surrey.


Any immediate changes in the configuration of the river over the next 10 to 25 years will have minimal impact, but future changes – say, in 50 to 100 years – could create significant challenges. Right now, the river can accommodate draughts of 11.5 to 13.5 metres but in the future, the dredged depth could increase to 16 to 20 metres. While this would allow a greater volume of salt water to penetrate further upriver, the key issue is that projected flow rates of the river wouldn’t be sufficient at peak tide to repel the salt inflows. These inflows form a wedge of salt water along the river bottom where intake pipes for local irrigation ditches lie waiting. When the tide goes out, fresh water prevails; at high tide, the salt wedge is present.


Under climate change scenarios, flow rates in the Fraser River could fall while sea levels could rise by one to two metres. This means less water to push against a greater wedge of salt.


From our family to yours ... Merry Christmas & Happy New Year First and Still Foremost.


While acknowledging that the federal government wants to get products to market, he says government needs to be aware of the impact port and port-related developments will have. “We want to make sure that everybody’s aware of the risks,” he said. “We have to make all governments aware of the risks of their decisions.” The risks are already quite real.


Delta deputy director of engineering Hugh Fraser told forum attendees that the 80th Street pump station was shut down this past August when flow rates dropped to 2,100 cubic metres per second and salinity levels spiked.


Fraser suggested that future intakes may be scheduled with the outgoing tide. A few hours of intake might even be possible under such conditions at flow rates of just 1,800 cubic metres a second.


Generally, however, higher flow rates are better. “We’re getting really good water 24/7 as long as our flows are 2,500 [cubic metres a second],” he said.


Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28  |  Page 29  |  Page 30  |  Page 31  |  Page 32  |  Page 33  |  Page 34  |  Page 35  |  Page 36  |  Page 37  |  Page 38  |  Page 39  |  Page 40  |  Page 41  |  Page 42  |  Page 43  |  Page 44  |  Page 45  |  Page 46  |  Page 47  |  Page 48