Permanent Funding Needed For Fraser River Debris Trap

By 250 News

Crews remove debris from Fraser River Debris trap ( submitted photo)

As communities throughout the B.C. prepare for possible flood events this spring, the Fraser Basin Council says the time has never been more perfect to commit to permanent funding for the Fraser River debris trap.

Located on the Fraser River between Hope and Agassiz, it has a set of fin booms that extend out into the river. The booms help direct floating debris to a side channel where it is gathered and removed from the water.

The trap captures between 45,000 and 55,000 cubic metres of debris each year. The debris is mostly snags, trunks, rootballs, branches ,twigs and bark . In a year of high flows, as in 1999, the trap collected about 100,000 cubic metres of debris — some 2,400 highway logging truckloads — and enough to fill 13 football stadiums to a depth of three metres.

While the Province has committed to five years of funding ( $250 thousand a year), that is just one third of the dollars needed to operate the trap each spring . John Schnablegger, who co-chairs the Fraser River Debris Trap Operating Committee, says studies show the trap pays for itself by keeping navigation on the Fraser safe, and preventing damage and clean- up downstream. “This year is a good example of why the trap has to be ready to go each spring. With a higher snow pack this year, there is the potential for high peak flows on the Fraser. That could mean even more wood coming down the river and a more dangerous situation for vessels and foreshore structures.”

Although the Fraser Basin Councl has secured funding to operate the trap again this year, it says the time has come to secure permanent funding so the focus can shift away from fund raising and more to ensuring the trap continues to follow best practices and delivers widespread benefits.

In the past the debris was burned , now, it is now chipped and ground on site for hog fuel and large pieces of debris are offered for stream restoration projects.

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