Drainage issues and flood prevention are the focus of the Banford Ditch Comprehensive Assessment project.
Chilliwack Council voted last week to send the three qualified proponents on to the request-for-proposals (RFP) stage to provide engineering services for the improvement project.
Coun. Sam Waddington asked if the Banford ditch work was similar to work under consideration for the Camp and Hope Slough systems.
Deputy of director of Engineering Rod Sanderson explained that the Banford Ditch system is lot smaller than the Camp and Hope systems, which do not typically flood.
Banford is having issues with drainage, and city officials are concerned about the potential for some properties near the Chilliwack airport to flood.
The overall aim is to make it perform better, and prevent localized flooding.
The three bidders include Urban Systems, McElhanney Consulting and OPUS DaytonKnight Consultants.
The ditch assessment engineering work, which is estimated to cost about $80,000, is in the budget for 2016, but any future dike work improvements are not, and would have to be considered during future budget deliberations.
The assessment would involve engineers providing hydraulic, drainage and environmental design services while considering cost-effectiveness and the objectives of the design for the Banford Ditch.
The RFP closes on Oct. 5 at 3 p.m.