(Mat Barrett/northeastNOW Staff)

By Aaron Schulze

Flood Mapping Data

Melfort and Tisdale amongst northeast communities receiving flood mapping

Aug 13, 2019 | 4:53 PM

Multiple northeast communities that are viewed to have a high risk of flooding will receive flood mapping.

On Monday, Aug. 12, federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Ralph Goodale and provincial Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency Dustin Duncan announced $1 million in funding will go towards flood mapping. The 20 high-risk communities include Arborfield, Cudworth, Melfort, Tisdale, Wadena, and Watson.

The federal and provincial governments will split the cost in half and no high-risk communities will be charged.

Melfort’s Director of Development Planning Brent Lutz said city staff members are glad to receive new flood mapping data, as they’ve been asking the provincial for updated information from time to time.

“We’ve had to depend on 1988 data and there are times we’re not certain it’s giving us the right information, and we’ve identified that to the province,” Lutz told northeastNOW, adding he’s happy to learn the funding is available rather than assuming the cost to pay for a consultant.

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Spring runoffs and flat land making it difficult for heavy rain to escape are some of the factors which makes Melfort a high-risk flood community.

Sam Ferris, vice president of the Water Security Agency (WSA), said the importance of flood prevention was recognized following runoffs and an excess of melted snow in 2010 and 2011, and significant rain events in 2013 and 2014.

“Coming out of those flood years, we did an analysis which compared the benefits of preparing through things like flood mapping and hydrological modeling,” Ferris told northeastNOW. “It turns out if you’re prepared for a flood by having all the needed measures in place, it’s 20 to 30 times more efficient to do the work up front rather than pay for flood damage resolution. This will be money well invested and it’ll go much farther than the money dollars we have in the long term.”

Since 2015, the WSA has listed 117 flood prone communities, although the magnitude of flooding will depend on the storm or weather event. Ferris said the 20 communities that will receive flood mapping are higher risk because of the creeks, lakes, and streams surrounding them.

With funding from the federal government, Ferris said the WSA expects to complete its hydraulic flow modeling work quicker to determine how significant the flows will be and how high the water will raise in a flood prone area.

Ferris said the flood mapping work for the 20 high-risk communities will be complete by March 2020, while the other 97 communities are expected to have theirs complete in 2030.

Lutz said the flood mapping data will help carry out Melfort’s Official Community Plan – which is currently in the reading stage – in terms of ensuring public and private developed properties will be safe from potential flooding.

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aaron.schulze@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @SchulzePANow