The City of Pitt Meadows is applying for almost $3 million in provincial funding to replace its Kennedy Drainage Pump Station.
The station controls the flow of water from the Katzie Slough into the Pitt River, and replacing it is one of the city's major capital projects in the 2025. The city's new Pitt Polder Pump Station had a price tag of $9 million when it was completed in summer of 2021.
The Kennedy Road pump upgrade is in the design phase, as the city will replace existing pumps with higher capacity pumps, install new debris screens and complete other works. The city will design the pump station this year, in consultation with the Katzie First Nation, and has a goal of starting construction in 2026, according to the 2025 business plan.
On Jan. 28, city council approved the application for a $2.93 million ask under the Disaster Resilience and Innovation Funding (DRIF), through the B.C. Ministry of emergency management and climate readiness, which includes upgrades to flood protection works. There was little discussion by council.
"Let's go get it done," commented Mayor Nicole MacDonald.
For at least five years the Watershed Watch Salmon Society has advocated for a replacement for the pump, which spokesperson Lina Azeez has referred to as a "fish-killing machine."
The city has responded that fish sampling shows a high density of invasive species and low numbers of salmonid fish.
With 86 percent of Pitt Meadows in the floodplain, the area is protected from rising water by a system 60 km of dikes, ditches, flood boxes and six pump stations.
