BC Agriculture & Food Climate Action Initiative

This project identified and documented roles and responsibilities, mechanisms, and actions for communication between the City of Delta and agricultural groups/operations during a flood or other emergency event. Regular annual communication was also identified as important for ensuring that lines of communication remain open and preparedness plans are updated.

Climate change is anticipated to magnify flood risk in Delta due to the combined effects of sea level rise, the potential increase in magnitude/frequency of Fraser River peak flows, and the increase in frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events. Effective communication will assist with smooth and efficient response during flooding and any other extreme event or emergency.

This project’s final report summarizes project activities — including a consultation process and workshop — and includes a draft plan for guiding communication between the City of Delta and agricultural organizations before, during, and after a flood.

Some of the key actions in the draft communications plan include:

• revisiting and updating the communication plan annually and providing seasonal (freshet) updates for Delta producers
• establishing and training agricultural liaisons to serve as representatives of the Delta farming community in an Emergency Operations Centre in the event of a flood

This project will assess the impacts of climate change on Delta’s agricultural water supply and future demand of that water as well as provide recommendations for priority improvements to meet current and future agricultural water needs.

Delta’s agricultural water is supplied through a system of ditches, intakes and control structures that serve over 6,000 hectares of agricultural land, over half of which is irrigated. Climate change is anticipated to increase irrigation demand across Delta, while changes to Fraser River flows and sea level rise are expected to reduce intake windows of fresh water availability.

Project findings will improve understanding of the current and future performance of the existing irrigation system as well as the feasibility of agricultural water system improvements.

This project will:

• assess current and future demand for agricultural water, with consideration for both total annual and peak water consumption requirements
• assess the capacity of the supply system infrastructure to meet demands under future climate conditions
• assess the feasibility of the agricultural surface water system and prioritize improvements to ensure the supply can meet future demands, taking into consideration agricultural water uses, hydrology and infrastructure characteristics
• provide a high-level cost-benefit evaluation of the recommended improvements

This project will compile and share salinity monitoring data from the lower Fraser River through an accessible online resource, helping Delta producers make daily irrigation management decisions and enabling local organizations to monitor seasonal conditions and changes over time.

During periods of lower flows in the Fraser River, the salt wedge (where ocean water meets river water) moves further upstream, increasing the salinity levels of agricultural water drawn from the river. Climate change is increasing these effects and reducing the availability of the freshwater that producers rely on for crop production.

An earlier CAI project, which modeled future salinity levels, led to the installation of strategically located salinity monitoring stations in the lower Fraser River.

This project will:

• establish an online system for collating and sharing salinity data
• determine agricultural producers’ salinity information needs
• ensure operability and functionality of website and interface
• identify next steps and recommendations for ongoing maintenance and improvement of salinity data accessibility

Projections for sea level rise (1.2m in the Fraser delta by 2100) and the potential for associated flooding of agricultural lands are a priority climate change impact identified in the Delta Adaptation Strategies.  However, there is limited information available about the potential magnitude and severity of impacts of coastal flooding for agriculture.  This study is a step toward addressing this gap.  The study also encompasses analysis of other types of climate-change related flood risk that have the potential to impact agriculture in the Fraser delta area.

This study utilizes existing data to analyze and evaluate the potential impacts  (immediate, short and long-term) of climate-change related flooding to portions of the Fraser delta’s agricultural land base and production capacity.  The report combines information about the potentially vulnerable agricultural land base, with available information about current agricultural production on that land base (capital investment, production types etc.) to evaluate the potential economic impacts, as well as to analyze short and longer-term impacts to productive capacity.

Project Results

• Delta – Potential Economic & Agricultural Production Impacts of Climate Change Related Flooding (2014 report) (7 MB pdf)
• Delta – Potential Economic & Agricultural Production Impacts of Climate Change Related Flooding (2014 summary) (4 MB pdf)

Climate change is an emerging challenge with the potential to have significant impacts on agriculture and the agricultural land base. However, for effective adaptation of agricultural production to occur, partnerships and shared understanding will be needed. As part of the Delta Adaptation Strategies improving public understanding of the sector, and strengthening its relationship with the surrounding community, was identified as a foundational step in building Delta agriculture’s resilience to current and future challenges.

With participation from key local organizations, this project developed a communications strategy. The strategy identifies a series of community outreach and education activities to strengthen understanding of local agriculture and climate change issues. Development of the strategy included background research, targeted consultation and meetings with local partners.  Audiences for the outreach and education activities could include Delta residents, community groups, farmers and agricultural organizations. A second project has since been completed, the Delta – Agriculture and Climate Change Collaborative Communications Strategy, to implement priority communications activities selected from the longer-term strategy.

Project Results

• Delta – Agriculture & Climate Change Communications Strategy (2014 plan) (1 MB pdf)

Following the completion of the Potential Agricultural and economic impacts from climate change related flooding in the Fraser delta project, a Forum was held in Delta in January 2015. This event brought together agricultural producers, government representatives and other partners to engage in a multi-stakeholder dialogue to translate study findings into strategies for adaptation and action.

The forum was designed to develop a shared understanding of potential impacts to Fraser delta agriculture due to climate change related flooding, to build collaboration and partnerships for adaptation to identified impacts and to identify strategies, opportunities and next steps for action.

Project Results

• Delta – Addressing Flood Risk in a Changing Climate (2015 forum report) (478 KB pdf)

Sea level rise associated with climate change is anticipated to increase the risk of coastal flooding in the Fraser delta.  Agricultural lands in Delta are susceptible to multiple types of flood risk associated with climate change.  The first phase of this project included a review of existing agricultural flooding preparedness and mitigation resources (within BC and beyond), consultation with producers and experts about risks and priorities, and development of a draft manual for individualized flooding preparedness and mitigation planning with Delta farmers.

In Phase 2, between 5 agricultural producers in Delta participated in a pilot to develop individual flooding preparedness and mitigation plans. The planning centered on evaluating risk and identifying appropriate actions for reducing the potential impact (and losses) associated with future flooding. The project has been evaluated both for future application in Delta and for transferability to other agricultural areas with a high flood risk, and options are being explored for making the planning tool and process available to additional producers.

Download and read the project summary as a PDF: Building Essential Public Support for the Future of Delta’s Agriculture.

The Agriculture and Climate Change Collaborative Communications Strategy project brought together those in Delta with an interest in local agriculture, food security and climate change to develop a communications strategy. This project implemented key tactics from the strategy through piloting a series of community outreach and education activities to strengthen understanding of local agriculture and climate change issues in Delta.

The project developed short videos, developed agriculture related content for the City of Delta website, contributed to educational curriculum and employed traditional media as well as social media in order to raise community/public awareness about Delta agriculture, climate change and the potential impacts of climate change on agriculture. These activities were intended to build collaboration between producer groups and other groups in Delta with an interest in agriculture, food security and climate change adaptation as well as to strengthen community support for the agriculture sector in Delta.  The range of activities implemented was evaluated for their effectiveness in achieving these goals.

View the three short videos below. 

Project Results

• Delta – Climate Change and Agriculture Education & Outreach Poster (2015) (2 MB pdf)
• Delta – Potato Perspectives on Climate Change, Grade 7 Unit (2016 educational curriculum) (6 MB pdf)
• Delta – Potato Perspectives on Climate Change, Secondary Unit (2016 educational curriculum) (6 MB pdf)

Effective drainage of agricultural lands is an important contributor to the agricultural viability of Delta. Despite existing practices and drainage infrastructure, drainage remains a challenge for some agricultural land in Delta. Drainage is likely to become more important (and challenging) with projections for an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme precipitation events and the potential for coastal flooding.

At the same time as managing through more excessive precipitation, producers in Delta will also be managing more extended dry periods when irrigation is most needed. Producers will wish to identify mechanisms for most effectively and efficiently making use of available water. One option (that relates to drainage systems) is use of sub-irrigation. However, the relationship between of sub-irrigation and soil salinity requires additional exploration.

Prior to investing in a drainage pilot project (currently underway as a part of the Farm Adaptation Innovator Program), this project completed a thorough review and compilation of information from previous drainage projects in Delta, along with a broader literature review and a producer survey (to discuss current drainage systems and recent experiences with managing extreme precipitation). This project confirmed the need for the current pilot project, and defined the scope, key questions and approach for the current piloting/demonstration. This project is a partnership between the Delta Farmers’ Institute and the University of British Columbia Faculty of Land and Food Systems.

See also the related Farm Innovator Project: Improving On-Farm Drainage Management to Reduce the Impacts of Climate Change in Delta, BC.

Project Results

• Delta – Drainage & Sub-irrigation Report (2015 report) (3 MB pdf)
• Delta – Drainage & Sub-irrigation Report (2015 summary) (864 KB pdf)

Download and read the project summary as a PDF: Salinity Study Forecasts Future of Agricultural Water in Delta.

In Delta, agricultural water supply and salinity are twin management challenges. The combination of changing patterns of river flow in the Fraser River; increasing irrigation demand due to warmer, longer and drier summers; and sea level rise, are expected to contribute to an increasing quantity of saline water migrating up the river.

Our current understanding of salinity influences on the lower Fraser River is incomplete. To fill this gap, this project provides a comprehensive and longer-term approach to understanding the dynamics of the lower Fraser River, the potential impacts of climate change, as well as shifts that may accompany the removal of the George Massey Tunnel. This completed project has generated modeling runs based on the various combinations of climate-change and river flow scenarios, sea level rise and potential dredging scenarios.

Model outcomes in the following report show the current, and anticipated future, extent of saline water intrusion and identify times when salinity levels are expected to be higher than a functional threshold for agricultural water us. The following report provides information for decision makers on how to respond to these changes and mitigate the migration of the salt wedge. The model results and report also include a section outlining recommendations for salinity monitoring locations and a salinity monitoring program.

Project Results

• Delta – Fraser River Salinity Modeling & Monitoring (2016 report) (4 MB pdf)