Dike Maintenance Act/Drainage, Ditch and Dike Act

Two Acts dealing with similar subjects are the Dike Maintenance Act and the Drainage, Ditch and Dike Act.  Both deal largely with artificial watercourses, and consequently have been dealt with together on this page of the Guide.

Dike Maintenance Act

The Dike Maintenance Act requires the province’s Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection to appoint an Inspector of Dikes, with powers to oversee all things “constructed, assembled or installed to prevent the flooding of land”.  This includes everything from pumps and embankments to ditches and drains.  

The Dikes Inspector has powers to enter onto a property and ensure that a “dike” is properly maintained, and can order the owner of the dike to do specific things needed to maintain the dike, or even make it more efficient.  There are also certain things that the owner of a dike cannot do without permission of the Dikes Inspector, including:

·          The lowering or raising of a dike;

·          The construction of any works on a dike or a dike right of way; or

·          The alteration of the foreshore (of a lake or river) adjacent to the dike.

Finally, it is an offence to interfere with a dike or its operations.

Drainage, Ditch and Dike Act

The Drainage, Ditch and Dike Act provides for a more comprehensive approach to dikes and drainage, but is rarely used.  The Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection administers this Act, but prefers to rely on its powers under the Dike Maintenance Act.

The Act allows the provincial Cabinet to create Drainage, Diking or Development Districts and appoint Commissioners to be responsible for that district.  The Commissioners are responsible for constructing and maintaining a system of dikes, drains, dams, etc. necessary for the supply of water (and possibly electricity) and/or the prevention of flooding.  However, there are only 5 drainage districts remaining in the province (Fortune Creek, Surrey, Colebrook, Barnston Island and Coquitlam), and no plans to create any more. 

The Act also creates expanded powers for dikes and drainage that can be delegated to municipalities, but these are not used, with most of these powers now coming within the powers of local governments in any case. 

For more information on these Acts:

·          Electronic text of the Dike Maintenance Act.

·          Electronic text of the Drainage, Ditch and Dike Act.

·          Flood Hazard Management page of the Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection. 

·          Dike Operation and Maintenance Manual. Public Safety Section. Water Management Branch. BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks, January, 2001.

·          Environmental Guidelines for Vegetation Management on Flood Protection Works to Protect Public Safety and the Environment.  BC Ministry of Environment, Lands and Parks and Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada, March 1999.