LETTER

Preventing future flood damage

 

I understand it is the local municipality that grants permits to build, and the province's responsibility to set the floodplains. These catastrophic once-in-a-hundred-years floods are happening more often.  

It's not only waterfront properties that are devastated, so it seems that floodplains boundaries (are inexact and) must be redrawn. The May 2017 floods across Canada could be a starting point to re-establish these boundaries. Upgrading sewer and stormwater systems would help, but will not be enough to deal with overland flooding; the same with short-term measures like sand-bagging and military help. Communities must become more proactive.

What to do about the existing devastation?  Insurance companies are helping to a certain extent; governments at all levels are providing disaster relief, as are the Red Cross and other relief organizations, church groups, etc. But all this assistance will not restore victims to their satisfaction. With climate change, it doesn't make sense to rebuild homes on floodplains, unless they rebuild about seven feet above their current levels (according to 2017 flood measurements) and without finished basements. Cottages on stilts may be practical, but not houses.  We want to avoid destruction of property and the health problems from contaminated materials left behind.

My (partial) solution is to bail out all devastated parties across the country with federally-mandated provincial funds coming out of the Carbon Tax schemes that are now going into General Revenues and not (necessarily) to solve environmental greenhouse gases issues -- a one-time bailout. Thereafter, all homeowners who remain on floodplains, should take out the necessary insurance or build as described above.

If homes can be built to withstand earthquakes - which, by the way, we live in Zone 2 of a three-zone measurement - surely we can make some changes to control building where flooding is likely.   

Steve d'Eça
Aylmer