What if we approached the buildup of sediment in one of Canada’s great rivers not as a disposal issue, but as an opportunity to reclaim resources?
Coastal British Columbia is at a tipping point. Rising sea levels and intense storm surges are degrading natural buffers like tidal marshes. We’re witnessing the limits (and nature-altering impacts) of traditional infrastructure and the growing cost of inaction.
But there is a solution.
As highlighted in the recent BIV article, Canada’s failure to monitor Fraser sands threatens region's future, we’re beginning to recognize that our greatest ally in the fight against coastal erosion may be in treating nature as essential infrastructure.
Many Fraser Delta communities already sit at or below sea level, and without co-ordinated intervention, they are or will be vulnerable to catastrophic flooding. While we rely heavily on dredging to maintain river navigation and protect infrastructure, we continue to treat sediment as waste. This is a missed opportunity because sediment could become the foundation for future land.
In fact, pilot projects in the area already demonstrate how this dredged sediment can be used to re-establish coastal estuaries. The Sturgeon Bank Sediment Enhancement Pilot Project has seen more than 21,000 cubic metres of sediment redistributed to Richmond’s foreshore since 2022, with plans for more to be added.
Anticipated benefits extend beyond wetlands. Coastal agricultural lands can benefit from river-sourced sediment addition in certain contexts as well.
“These ecosystems were always our first line of defence,” said Eric Balke, coastal restoration program manager and Ducks Unlimited Canada’s lead for the sediment enhancement project, referencing the estuary and marshes at the foreshore of the coastline.
“When we lose them, we lose more than habitat, we lose the natural buffers that protect communities, economies, infrastructure and our way of life. Reclaiming this sediment can reverse that.”
But awareness and co-ordination remain challenges. Many restoration sites need sediment, but they don’t know this is a possible option. Many dredging operations have sediment—the gap is in connecting these all together. Local farmers have concerns about flooding on their fields, and sediment is also available in secondary channels, ready for reuse, as Delta Mayor George Harvie, Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, Tsawwassen First Nation Chief Ken Baird and Musqueam Indian Band Chief Wayne Sparrow have voiced in support of a comprehensive plan. Systems or tools to identify sources and sites, and co-ordinate those exchanges are not yet in use, and the regulatory barriers that stand in the way need to be addressed.
That’s where fresh approaches come in. In California, a tool called SediMatch helps planners identify opportunities for the beneficial reuse of dredged material, matching excess sediment with restoration projects that need it. British Columbia stands to benefit from a similar approach, in addition to creating awareness of the available sediment, and working through the regulatory challenges.
Through innovative initiatives like Nature Force, a collaboration of property and casualty insurance organizations and government partners, Ducks Unlimited Canada is working with UBC researchers to begin creating a roadmap to reuse sediment for the Fraser Delta. By addressing systemic barriers and aligning dredging practices with ecological and flood protection goals, this roadmap can help reframe sediment as a strategic resource for long-term resilience.
Reusing dredged sediment is more than environmentally responsible, it saves money. Reducing fuel costs by avoiding a trip out to sea for sediment-filled barges to dispose of their loads, and lowering costs associated with sourcing alternate materials for restoration. These are only two of the beneficial financial factors at play. The creation of a new sediment economy is possible, one that links infrastructure protection, ecosystem health and local economic resilience.
The opportunity is clear: We must see natural ecosystems not just as environmental assets but as infrastructure, and support the partnerships, planning system and policies that allow them to function as such. Because the looming question isn’t whether we can afford to invest in nature, it’s whether we can afford not to.
Chantelle Abma is a communications and policy specialist at Ducks Unlimited Canada.
