Download - BC Water & Waste Association

information, please read the reports located at
www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/public_safety/flood/
structural.html#climate.
The documents also provide other land use
planning strategies besides building and improving
sea dikes. Some of the strategies include avoiding
development in lands prone to flooding from
sea level rise and/or retreating to areas more
appropriate for development. Interesting visuals
of these land use options are available at the
University of British Columbia’s Collaborative for
Advanced Landscape Planning website (www.calp.
forestry.ubc.ca/gallery/gallery_images/Delta/).
For areas of BC that do not have foreshore
protection, effective land use planning strategies are
vital for adaptation to sea level rise. To develop these
strategies, comprehensive, uniform floodplain mapping
guidelines are required. Therefore, the province’s
Flood Safety Section, again with the assistance of
NRCan, developed the Coastal Floodplain Mapping
Guidelines and Specifications. These guidelines provide
local governments with a uniform methodology for
developing coastal floodplain maps to assist with land
use decisions. The methodology relies on acquisition
of detailed floodplain topography and coastal
engineering analysis to estimate current and future
flood construction levels.
A sample floodplain map based on these
components was prepared for Campbell River, BC
and can be viewed at www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/
public_safety/flood/structural.html#coastal.
Stakeholder engagement on the Climate Change
Adaptation Guidelines for Sea Dikes and Coastal
Flood hazard land Use and Coastal Floodplain
Mapping Guidelines and Specifications has revealed
a number of needs including financial support for
floodplain mapping, estimates on the costs of raising
dikes, further information on alternative options
(avoid, retreat, accommodate), and increased public
awareness about the need to prepare for sea level rise.
To begin addressing these needs, MFlNRO has
initiated a study to estimate the costs of upgrading
BC’s existing coastal dike system up to the proposed
new standards. This study will also explore the costs
to implement alternative coastal defence and/or
land use management strategies. In collaboration
with this project, the Ministry of Environment is
preparing a Primer of Options to Adapt to Sea
level Rise to assist local governments in comparing
and selecting adaptation options that are suitable
for local conditions. Both of these projects are
supported with funding from NRCan and will be
available in 2012.
After the preceding projects are completed, the
next steps will be to explore possible mechanisms
to assist local governments in adapting to sea level
rise (i.e., conducting engineering studies, developing
floodplain maps, designing and building dikes, etc.).
Hopefully, such programs can be established so that
current and future residents can continue to live in
and enjoy the scenic coastal areas of BC.
click here to return to table of contents
Engineered Pump Systems Ltd.
1635 Industrial Avenue, Port Coquitlam, B.C. V3C 6M9
Phone: 604-552-7900 • Fax: 604-552-7901
115-9920-63 Avenue, Edmonton, Alberta T6E 0G9
Phone: 780-439-7800 • Fax: 780-439-7840
www.bcwwa.org 41