Kim Richter

Kim Richter - Councillor, Langley Township

2 weeks ago

"Heaven or hell? ....plan for an uncertain climate future.." The Province & Vancouver Sun August 10, 2019

Below are Excerpts from today's The Province & Vancouver Sun article specifically from and ABOUT Langley Township

"But while the Township of Langley ponders the agricultural benefits of 25 more frost-free days and reduced flood risk, Surrey is about to begin a $76-million public works program aimed at protecting a huge chunk of the city from coastal flooding associated with rising sea levels."

The Township of Langley has averaged about five days a year with highs over 30°C. But, according to an analysis by the Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium, this agricultural community can expect that kind of heat for 41 days a year by 2080.

“There’s potential here for a couple of positives and one is an extended growing season,” said Krista Robinson, sustainability programs specialist for the Township. “I hear people saying we can be the new California, but there are climate impacts that could offset those benefits.”

Warmer winters could encourage the spread of pests that are harmful to native plants. Drier summers may bring wholesale change to the mix of native plant species. Rainfall is expected to decline by about 19 per cent by 2050, which has serious implications for farmers.

“That affects how quickly the groundwater recharges,” she said. “About 20,000 residents and most of our farms depend on groundwater.”

You don’t really have to look decades down the road for the hyper-local effects of climate change.

“A local non-profit has been moving fish by truck out of areas where there isn’t enough water for them,” said Robinson. ‘We can only assume that will get worse.”

The parks department has noticed that native plants aren’t doing as well as expected. “So we might have to switch to what thrives in places like California,” she noted.

The Township is in the process of creating a climate change adaptation strategy. It has plans to conduct a shade assessment and an inventory of natural assets such as forests and wetlands that have the ability to manage sudden severe weather.

“We want to be able to integrate those natural systems into our built environment,” she explained. “In the past, we thought we could build our way out of any issues, so we put in all these storm drains and thought we had it covered.”

Not so much.

Adaptation is increasingly focused on green infrastructure and natural systems that perform services such as flood control and water treatment.

“Everyone is looking to Gibsons because they have done such an amazing job,” said Robinson. ... See MoreSee Less

Heaven or hell? B.C. communities plan for an uncertain climate future

theprovince.com

As the world continues to warm, every city, town and village in B.C. will be living its own unique version of climate change

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Kim Richter - Langley Township Councillor

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