Engineering and Public Works

The City of Richmond has demonstrated leadership in environmental sustainability by developing innovative policies, programs and services shaped by community and stakeholder participation. A new strategy has been developed to guide the City in achieving a 100% circular economy by 2050.

The circular economy combines economic growth with a development cycle that preserves and enhances natural capital, optimizes resource production and minimizes risk through the management of limited resources and renewable loops. Additionally, it enables companies to reduce production costs and losses, generate new sources of revenue and reduce their dependence on natural raw materials.

The City of Richmond’s vision for circular economy is to maximize the value of resources, by design, through responsible consumption, minimizing waste and reimagining how resources flow in a sustainable, equitable, low-carbon economy.

The Richmond Circular City Strategy outlines a framework that will guide the City's transition to a circular economy.

The Circular Economy emerges as a counterpoint to the linear model. This new model combines economic growth with a development cycle that preserves and enhances natural capital, optimizes resource production and minimizes risk through the management of limited resources and renewable loops. Additionally, it enables companies to reduce production costs and losses, generate new sources of revenue and reduce their dependence on natural raw materials.

View the Richmond Circular City Strategy or visit Richmond Circular City Strategy for more information.

City of Richmond’s 2008 – 2031 Flood Protection Strategy

Watch the City's Flood Protection animation:

Learn more about the City's Flood Protection System:

Explore the Flood Protection Story Map, an interactive tool that provides a great
starting point for learning more about City's flood protection system.


What’s Keeping Richmond Safe?
The City of Richmond has one of the most comprehensive flood protection systems in British Columbia.

The guiding framework to upgrade and improve flood protection across the City in advance of sea level rise and other climate driven flood hazards are:

• Flood Protection Management Strategy
• Dike Master Plan

Our flood protection system is designed to:

• Withstand high water events such as spring freshets and King Tides
• Handle a 1:500 flooding event: a major flood that has a 0.2% chance of happening in any given year

Current flood protection infrastructure includes:

• Dikes: 49 km of dikes that hold back the waters of the sea and river
• Drainage pipes: 585 km of drainage pipes that transport water out of the city
• Culverts: 61 km of culverts and tunnels that carry streams and store rainwater
• Channelized watercourses: 165 km of man-made channels that move water through and out of the city
• Pumps: 39 drainage pump stations that pump rain and groundwater out of the city
• Sensors: Numerous flood protection sensors that provide real-time data on river levels, rainfall and stormwater drainage

Pump Stations

Since the early 2000s, Richmond has rebuilt and upgraded 19 drainage pump stations, increasing the total pumping capacity by 29%. These stations are now capable of discharging 1.4 million US gallons of water per minute - the equivalent of over two Olympic swimming pools. The current focus is now shifting towards dike raising from the current elevation of 3.5 metres to 4.7 metres to stay ahead of sea level rise.

Phases of the Dike Master Plan

The City’s Dike Master Plan outlines the process to upgrade the City’s dike in advance of sea level rise and other climate change flood hazards. The plan has been divided into the following phases:

Watch the Dike Master Plan Phase 4 video:

Explore each phase: