Ebbwater Consulting

12/13/2025

An incredibly important part of creating the foundational tools for management (flood maps and flood risk assessments) is observed data. We've been posting here on some of the fantastic satellite data that is now available to record flood extents, but this is the bird's eye view at best ;) It ideally needs to be complemented with on-the-ground data collection. And so, we are calling out for help from citizen scientists! If you are in a flood zone in BC, and can SAFELY help the flood science community out, we are encouraging you to use the University of Zurich CrowdWater app to take pictures and mark virtual water levels, and locations of water pollutants. Download it for IOS and Google here: https://crowdwater.ch/en/app-start-en/

12/12/2025

With floodwaters on the ground (or coming) in our client's communities, we are grateful to have new public large data tools to help support decision making. The Sentinel-1 mission data pass from the last couple of days is one such tool. See the data for yourself: lnkd.in/gGFMzsJv

05/13/2025

A few of the Ebbwater crew had a blast last week with the very engaged students from ShchEma-meet school. We love sharing our love of hazards - knowledge is power! Thank you to the school for welcoming us into your building and Territory.

08/22/2023

Read on below for some thoughts from Ebbwater principal and founder Tamsin Lyle, who was recently interviewed as part of a series with Denise Withers and Royal Roads University.

One of the main reasons clients come to me is that they're stuck. They want different outcomes than they're getting. But haven't been able to make the change required to get those different results. They either don't know what to change or are resisting it. And that's a huge problem

05/17/2023

It's baaaack. We are on day 2 of posting forecasted water levels on our interactive map. Flows and levels heading up; 5.8 m at Mission, so not in true danger territory.
https://ebbwater.ca/fraser-river-water-level-forecast-map/

The Province of BC issues forecasts of water levels along the Lower Fraser River during periods of heightened flood threat. The forecasts, descriptions of the tools used in the development of the forecast, and the limitations and caveats associated with them can be found here. If you are curious abo...

12/16/2022

Building hydraulic models and writing policy papers are important parts of moving the dial on and ; this is the bulk of work that gets done at Ebbwater. But public communication is possibly the most effective way of moving the dial of flood governance in the long-term.

This is a particularly dramatic take on last November's , but it tells important stories about past decisions creating challenges today and the tensions and tradeoffs we face in future decision-making. It also brings to life the human stories of those that were directly affected.

In Part 1 of this documentary series, Ebbwater principal, Tamsin Lyle, shares the screen with some amazing colleagues - Tyrone McNeil, Carie-Ann Lau, and Simon Donner, and of course the . Watch them all now!

Thanks to Sookie Jespersen and Tara Shortt for including , , , and in this piece.

After The Storm explores the mechanics of the disaster, the impact on those affected, and the mammoth efforts to rebuild stronger and safer.

12/07/2022

Sometimes unexpected things happen.

At Ebbwater we've been advocating for more leadership and accountability at the Province of BC on the , , and files to better enable a transformational shift in governance. Because, as we wrote (https://lnkd.in/g3SkhTJK) in 2021, "flood risk governance in BC is broken".

After decades of bashing our heads against a wall, and seeking support from the host of fellow and climate adaptation evangelists doing the same - we were admittedly super cynical that anything would ever change.

BUT - today is a good, nay great, day. Because in BC as of this morning we have a new Minister for Emergency Preparedness and Climate Readiness! Sincere congratulations to Bowinn Ma!!!

This, we hope, is the beginning of taking the and our backwards approach to managing seriously. Let's start with accountability (check), recognize the need for transformational shifts in policy and not bandaid and reactive approaches (to come???), and then move to a real action plan for disaster risk reduction. Right now, anything is possible, and to not take this path will mean jeopardizing everything else this government wants to do.Sometimes unexpected things happen.

At Ebbwater we've been advocating for more leadership and accountability at the Province of BC on the , , and files to better enable a transformational shift in governance. Because, as we wrote (https://lnkd.in/g3SkhTJK) in 2021, "flood risk governance in BC is broken".

After decades of bashing our heads against a wall, and seeking support from the host of fellow and climate adaptation evangelists doing the same - we were admittedly super cynical that anything would ever change.

BUT - today is a good, nay great, day. Because in BC as of this morning we have a new Minister for Emergency Preparedness and Climate Readiness! Sincere congratulations to Bowinn Ma!!!

This, we hope, is the beginning of taking the and our backwards approach to managing seriously. Let's start with accountability (check), recognize the need for transformational shifts in policy and not bandaid and reactive approaches (to come???), and then move to a real action plan for disaster risk reduction. Right now, anything is possible, and to not take this path will mean jeopardizing everything else this government wants to do.

11/23/2022

On the heels of the Globe and Mail's reporting of the taxpayer supported losses from the November 2021 events, the Auditor General of BC has released some additional information. The estimated DFA costs of $3.5 billion represent half the total costs for DFA in the last 20 years! And, there's an additional almost $1 billion spent in BC in 2021 for all the other weather related disasters we experienced. Things are clearly getting worse.

Continuing to repeat the mistakes of the past is going to mean financial ruin over the long-term. We must choose a different path, and make some hard choices and sacrifices to ensure that we are not only more resilient, but financially solvent.

This report shares a behind-the-scenes look at this year's audit of the government's summary financial statements. In it, you'll find out more about the significant errors or omissions that led to a qualified independent auditor’s report, and learn more about key issues like COVID-19 benefit progr...

11/22/2022

The Globe has dug into the financial implications to taxpaying Canadians of not managing disaster risk proactively. $3.5Bn was paid (Federal portion only) out through Disaster Financial Assistance to victims of the November floods in BC. This is a mind-numbing amount. We need to prepare better to avoid these costs in future!

For more than 50 years, homeowners and businesses hit by fires, floods or storms have had a federal program to help governments decide who pays for the cleanup. Climate change is exposing its weaknesses and renewing talk of big changes to come

11/16/2022

$Billions have been spent on recovery from . Where has it gone? Has it been spent wisely, with an eye on a resilient future rather than a fragile one? Hard to say, but we know that we need to make some big changes to not have a repeat catastrophe.

Ebbwater Consulting Inc. is proud to be a member of the Collaborative, advocating alongside Emergency Planning Secretariat (Tyrone McNeil), Watershed Watch, Resilient Waters, West Coast Environmental Law, UBC School of Architecture and Landscape Architecture, Farmland Advantage and Patrick Lilley for an alternate, more resilient - and just plain common sense better - pathway.

Learn more about this initiative in our Build Back Better Together Forum Report: Flood Recovery, Resilience and Reconciliation in the Lower Fraser (https://lnkd.in/gfDS4XFU)

https://lnkd.in/gg7T59Ua

Indigenous-led collaborative seeking more integrated and resilient flood planning says there is little information about how the recovery fund has been allocated or spent