Floodplain management in Canada: overview and prospects

Abstract

Flooding is an important natural process. It plays a vital role in the maintenance of floodplain and shoreline ecosystems. Yet, it also is a hazard, in that floods put human life and property at risk. Paradoxically, flooding is a hazard only because humans have chosen to occupy flood‐vulnerable areas, such as riverine floodplains and lake or coastal shorelines. Recent major floods in Canada are a reminder that vulnerability to floods remains high. Responses to the flooding “problem” have evolved in Canada from an emphasis on controlling “water out of place” through structural measures such as dams and dikes, to managing human behaviour using zoning to keep development away from hazardous areas. In Canada, the federal‐provincial Flood Damage Reduction Program, initiated in 1975, has been an important vehicle for delivering a consistent, national approach to floodplain management. However, as of early 1999, the federal government has allowed the program to wind down while it reconsiders its role in water management ‐ effectively leaving the field of flood damage reduction to the provinces. This creates both challenges and opportunities. The challenge will be to avoid a return to the spiral of increasing flood damages and disaster assistance payments that characterized the period up to 1975. At the same time, however, opportunities exist to take stock of floodplain management, and to evaluate alternative future directions, including a more integrated approach to flooding. Les inondations font partie d'un processus naturel important. En particulier, elles contribuent largement à entretenir les écosystèmes des plaines inondables et des zones riveraines. Pourtant, elles constituent aussi un risque dans la mesure où elles mettent en danger la vie des gens et les propriétés. Paradoxalement, les inondations ne sont un risque que parce que les être humains ont choisi d'occuper des zones susceptibles d‘être inondées, comme les plaines riveraines inondables, les rives des lacs et le littoral marin. Les inondations importantes qui se sont récemment produites au Canada nous ont rappelé notre grande vulnérabilitéà leur égard. Notre réaction à l'endroit du “problème” que représentent les inondations a d'ailleurs évolué. Au lieu de nous concentrer comme autrefois sur l'adoption de mesures structurelles comme des barrages et des digues pour empêcher l'eau de s’échapper librement, nous agissons maintenant sur le comportement humain en décourageant les installations dans les zones dangereuses. Au Canada, le programme fédéral‐provincial de réduction des dommages causés par les inondations, lancé en 1975, a beaucoup contribuéà l‘élaboration d'une approche nationale cohérente dans la gestion des plaines inondables. Cependant, au début de 1999, le gouvernement fédéral, qui repense son rôle dans la gestion des eaux, a autorisé l’élimination progressive du programme, laissant tout bonnement aux provinces la responsabilité de la réduction des dommages causés par les inondations. Ce nouvel état de choses soulève évidemment toutes sortes de ...

Flood risk management and shared responsibility: Exploring Canadian public attitudes and expectations

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Public Attitudes Toward Policy Instruments for Flood Risk Management

“…Flood mapping in the Canadian federation is primarily the responsibility of the subnational provinces and territories, but the federal government has historically played a central role as well. For instance, the Flood Damage Reduction Program (FDRP) was an intergovernmental initiative that operated between 1975 and 1999, which sought to identify and map high-risk flood areas (de Loë 2000 ). This work resulted in 957 designated flood risk areas, most of which retain their designation today (Environment and Climate Change Canada 2013 ).…”

Managing residual flood risk behind levees: Comparing USA, France, and Quebec (Canada)

“…Unlike the USA and France, Canada didn't create a flood insurance system. With a change in government, the FDRP was phased out starting in the early 1990s and the last of the agreements expired in 2000 (de Loë, 2000).…”