Thursday - Jan. 11, 2024 - The 2019 study with big implications for a $870 million pump station

🌨️ High 3C

Good morning!

Yesterday I mentioned a story we had coming about what happens to male dairy cows. One little word. Thankfully, most of you let me off the hook. But I’m also delighted someone pointed out my gaffe. While writing the story, I spent thousands of words carefully policing my use of cow, a word that refers to only half of all cattle, even if colloquially it is sometimes used for the entire species. And I made it through too, only to trip myself up in yesterday’s introduction. I’d blame my farm-raised colleague for also missing my miscue, but that would be bull.

– Tyler

Support local journalism by supporting The Current. Become a Current Insider member today and help bring local stories to life.

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

NEWS

An overlooked study has major implications for Abbotsford flood planning

The Fraser River poses a huge flood risk to many communities. Just not, historically, in winter.

For that reason, scientists and governments have invested relatively little time and energy to learn about how the river behaves during its low-flow season, and how that behaviour is changing. 

Thank goodness, then, for Siraj Ul Islam and his colleagues. Four years ago, Ul Islam helped write a report that could help shape the future of flood management in the Fraser Valley, and help determine whether spending $870 million on a new pump station is really worth the massive cost. 

• Today, we write about Ul Islam’s findings, and ask him whether any policymakers have bothered to ask him key questions pertaining to flood risks in the Fraser Valley.

Related

Need to Know

🦌 Try not to let moose lick your cars, federal officials say [CBC]

💰️ A group of Metro Vancouver mayors are on the hunt for more public transit money [CTV]

🥘 A redesign for a new restaurant in Langley met with unanimous city council approval [Langley Advance Times]

❄️ BC’s low snowpack is renewing concerns for summer drought [CFKC Kamloops]

🔬 Human-caused climate change is behind the concerning lack of snow in the province, a new study says [Times Colonist]

👉️ The Abbotsford Rec Centre is slated for about $10 million in upgrades [Abbotsford News]

➡️ Human remains found in a suitcase in Washington last year belonged to a Canadian [Fraser Valley Today]

🏠️ A Chilliwack woman hailed as a hero for a rescue attempt is about to lose her home [Chilliwack Progress]

👉️ The Abbotsford Chamber of Commerce is reminding local businesses they’ll have to repay pandemic loans soon [Abbotsford News]

🚧 Single-lane alternating traffic around construction zones is expected in several areas in Langley this month [Langley Advance Times]

👉️ Property values dipped in Harrison Hot Springs and Hope this year [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🥶 Extra shelter space and resources are available as cold weather sets in across the Fraser Valley [Sara for Women/Facebook]

🏢 Plans for a low-rise condo building will go to a public hearing in Chilliwack [Chilliwack Progress]

📈 Langley Township is looking at a 7% tax increase [Langley Advance Times]

CURRENT CAM: Congratulations to Dan Douglas, who was the first to correctly guess yesterday’s Current Cam location was the new waterpark at the Cedarbrook development in Chilliwack.

Enjoying our newsletter? Help us make it even better!

Become an Insider member and help keep local journalism and storytelling alive in the Fraser Valley.

The Agenda

Abbotsford council cuts meeting times

Abbotsford’s council will be meeting less frequently in 2024.

In recent years, council has met every second Monday in two sessions: an afternoon “executive” council meeting, and an evening meeting that immediately followed public hearings (and at which council would frequently make decisions related to issues discussed during those hearings). Council also met at occasional “committee of the whole” meetings aimed at providing a venue for more comprehensive discussion about various topics.

But in 2024, council has consolidated the two regular meeting sessions. Council will now meet Tuesday afternoons at 3pm. Committee of the whole meetings have now been scrapped. (Three such meetings were held in 2023.)

Public hearings have largely been scrapped because of provincial legislation requiring municipalities to only hold such gatherings for amendments to the city’s official community plan.

🗓 Things to do this week/end

❄️ Nighttime snowshoe: The Hope Mountain Centre for Outdoor Learning is running a nighttime snowshoeing trip in Manning Park on Saturday, Jan. 13. Learn about stars, winter ecology, and lunar phases. Details online.

🏔️ Mountain movie: A film night featuring Patagonia’s Jirishanka to raise money for the Chilliwack Park Society will be held in Chilliwack’s District 1881 on Thursday, Jan. 11. Details online.

🖼️ Artist reception: Local artist Daulby will present a collection of work in an exhibition at the Chilliwack Cultural Centre until Feb. 10. The reception for the exhibition will be Saturday, Jan. 13. Details online.

Want even more? Insider members get a comprehensive events listing every Thursday, plus a weekly Saturday round-up edition with behind-the-scenes content. Becoming a member costs less than $2 a week and helps support the ongoing production of The Current’s newsletters and in-depth journalism. Become a member here.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

That’s it!

Thanks for reading Fraser Valley Current today ♥️ 

If you found something useful, consider forwarding this newsletter to another local.

And before you go, please let us know:

Help share The Current

Wouldn’t the Fraser Valley be better if more people had access to local, quality news – and didn’t have to rely on social media? Share The Current with your friends and help us build better communities.