The city of London and the federal government are joining forces to protect a vulnerable London neighbourhood from potential flooding.
Member of Parliament for London North Centre Peter Fragiskatos and Mayor of London Josh Morgan announced Friday a combined investment of over $9-million to renovate the Broughdale Dyke.
Broughdale is located in the city’s north end, adjacent to the Thames River. Here, you can find 190 properties and important municipal infrastructure including parks, roads, and bridges. The Broughdale Dyke, which extends from Richmond Street to Kings College on the south shore of the river, has been doing a lot of heavy lifting in protecting the area from flooding.
However, with climate change causing weather conditions to grow more and more extreme, city officials fear the dated Broughdale Dyke won’t hold up against the elements for much longer.
“Currently we have a dyke system there that protects against a 100-year flood, which is becoming more and more frequent. When we have those high-intensity storms, the river levels can come up much faster than we’ve seen,” said Ashley Rammeloo, the city’s director of water, wastewater, and stormwater. “This is an area that would be prone to that. By raising it to the 250-year level, it significantly lessens the risk of flooding.”
Transforming the dyke will be an expensive project, according to Morgan. The city of London is contributing $5.4 million to the effort, while Canada is providing over $3.6 million through the national Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
“Doing this in partnership with the federal government is one of the ways we can stretch our dollars into more projects, take more action, and achieve more results for Londoners,” he said.
Morgan expressed his approval of the project, saying it “is phenomenal not just for Londoners seeing the impacts of climate change today, but for future generations who will face the challenges as we work to try to mitigate our impacts on the environment.”
In a similar vein, Fragiskatos said updating protective infrastructure is a wise move to protect future Londoners from disaster.
“As a father, for example, what kind of world do I want my daughter to live in? She’s now 17-months-old. I have this role, I’m a member of parliament, so I’m going to do whatever I possibly can to create a better world for her,” Fragiskatos shared.
Rammeloo says London is hiring a consultant for the project this spring, and the first phase of construction should begin in spring 2024. She predicted that all phases of the project would be completed by 2027 or 2028.
-With files from Craig Needles.
