With our climate changing and sea levels rising, the City of Surrey is developing a Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy for Surrey’s floodplain area, which is home to residential neighbourhoods, businesses, internationally significant natural habitats and provincially critical infrastructure. The first phase of the three year project launched today will focus on education and awareness building by engaging residents, stakeholders and technical experts.
“Surrey is a leader in proactively planning to adapt to climate change and the Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy is of regional importance,” said Mayor Linda Hepner. “By embarking on a Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy built around a participatory process, we are engaging with our coastal communities to not only anticipate impacts from climate change but develop solutions that preserve and enhance what is important in Surrey.”
The 3-year planning process will help ensure Surrey’s coastal communities are more resilient to climate change and coastal flooding from sea level rise. Development of the strategy will be driven by community values of the people who live, work and spend leisure time in the area.
“The principles of environmental, social and economic sustainability are at the foundation of every decision we make,” said Councillor Mike Starchuk, Chair of the Environmental Sustainability Advisory Committee. “As we develop our Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy, we must be mindful of climate change impacts along our coastline as we move forward in building a strong, sustainable and resilient city, now and well into the future.”
The City of Surrey is a global leader on climate action, and has joined the Compact of Mayors, the world's largest coalition of city leaders addressing climate change by pledging to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, tracking their progress and preparing for the impacts of climate change. The Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy and the latest information on the development process can be found here.
