Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Service Project

Project overview

The Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project is a major infrastructure initiative to design, construct, and establish operation and maintenance of a debris flow mitigation structure for the Catiline Creek at Lillooet Lake Estates. The objective of the project is to reduce the risk to the community and potential for loss of life by increasing capacity of the existing channel to manage future debris flows up to 100,000 cubic metres through the community, under a new forest service road bridge, and into Lillooet Lake. The SLRD is working closely with the Ministry of Forests to coordinate the Ministry’s replacement of the In-SHUCK-ch bridge over Catiline Creek in conjunction with the project. To learn more about the debris flow hazard, assessments and the SLRD Board’s "Do Not Occupy" Recommendation, visit the SLRD local hazard webpage for the Catiline Creek Debris Flow.

Road and construction updates

Community updates

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Catiline Creek Debris Flow hazard page

Location

Project timeline

2016	Risk assessment and preliminary design
2022	LLE petition for service establishment and loan Service establishment and loan bylaws adopted Grant applications
2023	Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) Grant confirmed Began detailed design Began permitting phase
2024	Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program Green Infrastructure Stream (ICIP-GreenARDM) Grant confirmed Completed detailed design Permitting phase
2025	Tender Phase Receipt of permits by owner Contractor permitting applications Construction begins
2026	Construction continues Finalize operations and maintenance manual Project close-out Final survey for land tenure and statutory right of way (SRW)

Quick Stats

Budget: $11.697 million
Project Duration: 2023–2026
Current Phase: Construction began in Quarter 4 of 2025. Coastal Mountain Excavations Ltd. has been awarded the contract to serve as the General Contractor.
Funding: Provincial and federal funding + long-term borrowing from Lillooet Lake Estate residents:
- up to $5.697 million from the Green Infrastructure Stream of the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) - a combined investment of $3.107 million from the federal government and $2.589 million from the provincial government.
- $2 million from the Province of B.C.’s Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) Disaster Risk Reduction – Climate Adaptation stream
- up to $4 million from Lillooet Lake Estates through a loan authorization bylaw adopted by the SLRD Board in 2022

Project Details

To design, construct, and establish operation and maintenance of a debris flow mitigation structure for the Catiline Creek at Lillooet Lake Estates (LLE).

The objective of the project is to reduce the risk to the community and potential for loss of life by increasing capacity of the existing channel to manage future debris flows up to 100,000m3 through the community, under a new forest service road bridge, and into Lillooet Lake.

The scope of the project includes:

Approximately 900 metres of creek to be widened and deepened
Approximately 970 metres of training berms
Coordination of replacement In-SHUCK-ch FSR bridge with Ministry of Forests
A right of way is required through LLE as well as Crown Land Tenure.
Tree removal, replanting and restoration, relocation of existing LLE-owned watermains and services, and other incidental work.

Construction of a debris flow mitigation structure along Catiline Creek has been a priority for the community of Lillooet Lake Estates for several years, subsequent to major debris flow events occurring, most recently in 2010 and 2013. The SLRD has worked with the community for a number of years on items related to the debris flow hazard at Catiline Creek.

In September 2022 the property owners and the site owners / shareholders of Lillooet Lake Estates Ltd. petitioned the SLRD to establish a service and borrow up to $4 million for debris flow mitigation at Catiline Creek for both full and phased project options. The cost of service establishment and loan repayments are to be requisitioned via parcel tax to Lillooet Lake Estates property owners.

In December 2022 the SLRD Board adopted the Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Service Establishing Bylaw No. 1786-2022 and Squamish-Lillooet Regional District Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Service Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1787-2022, and approved inclusion of service and project resources in the 2023-2027 Financial Plan. More information on this process can be found on the service establishment and loan authorization bylaw page.

Community support for the project, and for the service establishment and loan authorization bylaws are critical elements of this project, including supporting applications for both provincial and national grant programs.

As of November 2024, the current approved project budget is 11.697 million.

The approved project budget includes construction and associated services, professional services, spotted owl exemption regulatory costs, fill site plan costs, the design phase of the offsite offsetting requirements as well as a project contingency. View November 27, 2024 staff report.

The current funding is:

CEPF-DRR-CA Grant	$2 million
LLE site owners via Loan Authorization Bylaw No. 1787-2022	Up to $4 million
ICIP-GreenARDM	Up to 5.697 million
Total	Up to 11.697 million

The SLRD is working closely with representatives of Lillooet Lake Estates on this project.

The SLRD is coordinating with Ministry of Forests on the replacement of the FSR bridge. The replacement of the bridge is to be funded and completed by the Ministry of Forests, in parallel with the construction of the mitigation works.

First Nations

Catiline Creek, and the community of Lillooet Lake Estates, lies within the unceded traditional territory of the Líl ̓wat Nation. Since the project’s inception, an important priority for the SLRD has been to engage with Líl’wat Nation, through its land use referrals process. The SLRD sincerely appreciates the time and consideration that Líl ̓wat Nation Land Use Referral Committee members are taking to review the project and is grateful for its conditional support. The project team looks forward to continuing to work with the Referral Committee to ensure that all referrals related to the various provincial and federal permits required for the project will be forthcoming for the Committee’s review, and that archaeological and environmental monitoring is conducted throughout the project. The SLRD is also working to keep Samahquam, Skatin Nations, Xa’xtsa-Douglas First Nation, the Lillooet Tribal Council and the St’át’imc Chiefs Council informed as the project moves forward.

Project updates, staff reports and news releases

Project updates will be published here as available.

Road and construction updates will be posted to Catiline Creek Road and Construction Updates page moving forward.

October 15, 2025 - Statutory right of way is registered. Contractor plans to start tree clearing below the in-SHUCK-ch FSR the week of October 14.

September 2025 - The Statutory Right of Way has been finalised and registration at the Land Title Office is pending.

On September 15, 2025, the SLRD convened a pre-construction meeting with Coastal Mountain Excavations Ltd. and other project partners, which included a site visit.

SLRD staff presented Project Status Update #8 to the SLRD Board on September 17, 2025 at 1:00 pm. The report and presentation provided a high-level overview of the construction phase. You can click here to view the report or click here to view the recording of the presentation on YouTube. The approved project budget of $11.697 million includes construction and associated services, professional services, spotted owl exemption regulatory costs, fill site plan costs and the design phase of the offsite offsetting requirements, as well as a project contingency. View November 27, 2024 staff report. The construction services contract with Coastal Mountain Excavations Ltd. is one of many components that comprise the overall approved project budget of $11.697 million. The initial contract value of the construction services contract between the SLRD and Coastal Mountain Excavations Ltd. is $5,199,709.

August 2025 - The Invitation to Tender for Construction Services closed on July 23, 2025. The SLRD has awarded the associated contract to Coastal Mountain Excavations Ltd. to be the General Contractor for the project. Construction is anticipated to start in Quarter 3 of 2025.

July 2025 - An Invitation to Tender (ITT) for construction services was issued June 5 2025. The tender close date has been extended from July 16, 2025 to July 23, 2025 based on feedback received. After the tender close date, the SLRD will follow the process laid out in the ITT, including assessing any bids received.

May 2025 - Staff presented Project Status Update 7 at the May 28, 2025 meeting. The project team continues to work towards issuing an Invitation to Tender for construction services in Spring 2025.

February 2025 - Staff presented Project Status Update 6 and a Request for Board Approval to approve the issuance of the Invitation to Tender for construction services at the February 26, 2025 meeting. The SLRD Board approved issue of tender, subject to associated project requirements being addressed to the satisfaction of the CAO. The project team is working towards issuing an Invitation to Tender for construction services in Spring 2025 and prior to moving onto the tender issuance phase, the project team will conduct an assessment to ensure all associated requirements have been completed.

November 2024 - SLRD staff presented the Project Budget to the SLRD Board at the November 27, 2024 Board meeting – links to the associated staff report (with slides) and the staff presentation are below. The SLRD Board approved an updated project budget of $11.697 million and associated project schedule. (Please note that the Board has removed the implementation phase of the offsite offsetting work required by Fisheries and Oceans Canada from the project scope, and this implementation phase work will be carried out as a future separate project – the initial staff estimate for this implementation phase work is $1.265 million but, at this time, the scope of this work is still to be determined and funding sources have not been identified.)

September 2024 - Work underway includes activities related to detailed design phase, permitting and land tenure requirements, finalising the statutory right of way, grant administration and engagement and consultation with First Nations and project stakeholders. Staff will present two reports at the September 25 SLRD Board meeting - Status Update #5 and a request for approval to review options for the upcoming Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF) intake (deadline October 4, 2024). Report links are included below.

July 2024 - Staff will present a report to the SLRD Board at the July 24 2024 meeting related to potential funding opportunities for the project including the new Disaster Resilience and Innovation Fund. View the report online, and watch live on the SLRD YouTube channel.

June 2024 - A Status Update was provided to the SLRD Board at the June 26, 2024 meeting at 1:30 pm. View the report online, and watch live on the SLRD YouTube channel.

May 2024 - DFO Authorisation, Dike Maintenance Act and water license application submitted. Timber cruise completed.

April 2024 - 90% design milestone achieved.

March 2024 - Activities underway include activities related to detailed design phase, permitting and land tenure requirements, engagement and consultations with First Nations and project stakeholders.

February 2024 - There have been delays in grant funding announcements for grant funding programs at the federal level which is impacting grant applications related to this project. These delays, in addition to a revised timeline for the design phase, have led to a revised baseline schedule for the project. In the revised baseline schedule construction is now planned to commence in late 2024, with construction completion in late 2025 or early 2026.

January 2024 – Initial DFO review complete requiring application for Authorization under the Fisheries Act.

November 2023 – Crown Land Tenure, DFO request for review, and permit application under the Water Sustainability Act submitted.

October 31, 2023 – 50% design milestone achieved.

July 2023 - Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. contracted to provide engineering services for the project.

March 2023 - Capex Project Advisory Services Inc. engaged to provide project management services for project.

March 9, 2026 - Electoral Area Directors Committee - Draft Electoral Area Budget Review – 2026-2030 Financial Plan (p34) - View Recording

February 25, 2026 - SLRD Board - Updated Estimates - Future Offsetting Project (Related to Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project) - Watch at agenda item 9.3 Request for Decision - Updated Estimates - Future Offsetting Project (Related to Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project)

February 25, 2026 - SLRD Board - Security Issuing Bylaw No. 1953-2026 (Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Service) - Watch at agenda item 8.1 Request for Decision - Security Issuing Bylaw No. 1953-2026 (Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project)

February 25, 2026 - SLRD Board - Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Service Draft Cost Recovery Agreement - Watch at agenda item 9.4 Request for Decision - Catiline Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Service Draft Cost Recovery Agreement

February 11, 2026 - Electoral Area Directors Committee - Draft Electoral Area Budget Review – 2026-2030 Financial Plan - View Recording

January 28, 2026 - SLRD Board Status Update #9 - View Recording

January 14, 2026 - Electoral Area Directors Committee - Preliminary 2026 Draft Electoral Area Budget Review – 2026-2030 Financial Plan - View Recording