Vancouver International Airport at Risk of Flooding, Senate Warns

The Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is at risk of “severe flooding,” according to a new report released by the Senate of Canada.

Titled “Urgent: Building Climate Resilience Across Canada’s Critical Transportation Infrastructure,” the 57-page report examines the impact of climate change focused on four case studies ) the Chignecto Isthmus, Canada’s North, Vancouver airport and marine port, and the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Seaway. 

The Standing Senate Committee on Transport and Communications conducted the study via meetings with all three levels of government, Indigenous peoples, and stakeholders from the transport, construction, engineering, business, and academic sectors.

The report found that Vancouver International Airport, which is built on Richmond’s Sea Island in the Fraser River, is at risk of flooding due to rising sea levels and increased precipitation, as well as the threat of earthquakes. 

“[It is] projected that the sea level will rise more than one metre by the end of the century in the Vancouver area. This sea-level rise, combined with an increase in extreme precipitation, will likely cause more severe flooding,” said the report. 

Christoph Rufenacht, vice president of airport development and asset optimization of the Vancouver Airport Authority, told the committee that he is “confident” that the airport can continue operating into the future despite the increased risk of flooding. 

“With the plans we have in place and the investment plans that we are continuing to execute on, we can operate this airport reliably, predictably and in a resilient manner for decades and decades to come,” he said.

The airport authority said it expects to invest up to $60 million to raise dikes and up to $25 million for pump station improvements over the next six to seven years.

“These are significant investments and represent tens to hundreds of millions of dollars related directly to climate change,” said Rufenacht. 

The report concludes that “Canada is not ready to confront and overcome the effects of climate change on its means of transportation,” and urges for better planning at the federal level to coordinate a national plan and funding support. 

“At Canada’s largest airports, the federal government owns the land, but leases it to not-for-profit airport authorities, who are responsible for operating the airports,” the report reads. “In the committee’s view, setting clear expectations about who pays for what is a critical component of any effort to move forward on this urgent policy file.”