FRASER VALLEY (NEWS1130) – This years flooding is expected to cause hundreds of thousands of dollars in damage, but there is an upside.
The flood water is full of sediments spilling onto farm land in the Fraser Valley. SFU geography professor Jeremy Vinditti says that will bring benefits for years to come.
“When you bring these nutrients in, it means that we have to add less fertilizer to the soil over the long term,” explains Vinditti. “It may not be that there is a better crop next year, but it may mean that we have to add less fertilizer to the soil to maintain its quality.”
He adds many in the scientific community are concerned with how close the dykes are built to the river’s edge.
“By not letting that water go back out onto the agricultural field, it means that we’re going to be in a situation where we have to add fertilizer to it. In some cases, the dykes are too close to the river channel and it would be much better if they were moved back.”
But Vinditti says he understands protecting infrastructure and property must be taken into account.