UNews - George Groeneveld

Factoring the ‘people equation’ into future flood hazard planning key to helping communities recover

trevor.kenney — Thu, 15 Aug 2013 21:25:05 +0000

- community input necessary to help with future flood reduction strategies
- flood hazard mapping needs to be updated as communities and river systems change
- majority of flood hazard studies are now up to two decades old

A ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge geography researcher is suggesting that flood mitigation and future planning processes involve people in the communities most affected – to help cities and towns look ahead and reduce some of the challenges faced across the province by recent flooding.

Dr. Tom Johnston, who studies human dimensions of natural hazards, said that as much as the recently-announced flood mitigation plan and other measures, such as an expert panel on flood issues, are important and timely steps forward, the processes by which people and the environment engage is what concerns him as flood reduction planning begins.

"With many thousands of people displaced over a short period of time, entire communities affected by flooding and the dramatic change that has brought to how people live, work and interact with each other, the critical element to planning for the future is community engagement."

Johnston says that structural responses – constructing flood-control dams, or physically changing or dredging parts of a river to better manage water flow -- need to be matched with non-structural or policy-based responses, such as incorporating the latest and best available flood hazard information into community and land-use planning, and even prohibiting development in high-risk places.

"It is extremely important that in addition to scientists and engineers that we have community involvement in any land-use planning process, not only to ensure that the challenge of flooding is minimized, but also to have the community members be aware of, and fully involved in, the future of their community."

Johnston adds that social scientists, such as human geographers and other behavioural scientists also need to be included in the discussion because their expertise would complement the expertise of hydrologists and engineers. "One would be foolish to consult a cardiologist about a hip replacement, so why would we rely on experts trained in disciplines that don't deal with understanding human behaviour for advice on human dimensions of hazard management?"

Johnston says that it's stating the obvious that no one wishes to go through another flood season like this. "Regardless of how affected a particular community is – from severe to moderate -- it would be prudent to get people more directly involved and looking ahead not only to next year, but 30 or more years in the future, so they could say they helped to solve a big problem for the next generation of residents. This year's flooding in the Bow River Basin was extreme. The chances of a flood of that magnitude occurring in any given year are very low — probably less than one per cent — but we need to remember that includes next year."

The Government of Alberta recently rolled out a Flood Hazard Mitigation Plan, which Johnston says will be helpful to increase public awareness about flood-affected areas of the province.

"A central feature of the plan is a web-based interactive map that highlights "Flood Hazard Areas" down to the local scale. The GIS-based system is operator friendly, and if you have used interactive mapping software on your smart phone or some other device, you can easily navigate this system," Johnston says. http://environment.alberta.ca/01655.html

The hazard maps will be useful for home buyers, and should be helpful in guiding flood-proofing efforts and for land-use planning, Johnston adds, but in order for the system to achieve anything close to its full potential, two conditions must be satisfied.

"First, the studies used to delineate flood hazard areas should be as current as possible. Second, local and regional authorities charged with the responsibility for land-use planning must be willing to use the system to guide their decision making, even though this could involve constraining the range of residential location choices available to citizens."

Johnston says that as of June, 2013, more than 50 flood hazard studies had been completed for the provincial government.

"The most recent studies in and around the communities experiencing severe flooding in June were completed after February, 1996, or 17 years ago." (http://environment.alberta.ca/01656.html )

"Many were completed under the Canada-Alberta Flood Damage Reduction Program, a program which began in 1989, but lapsed in 1999. The studies covered most of the province, including all of the heavily populated ones. A majority of the studies -- approximately 60 per cent -- are now up to two decades old. During that time, communities have changed, and the physical geography of entire regions have changed as residential and commercial developments increased."

Given the recent flood events, future hazard zone mapping should be more consistent, Johnston says.

"We are dealing with dynamic systems, many of which are under increasing pressure from a variety of human activities, so it is prudent to make sure they are done regularly."

When a panel chaired by George Groeneveld, then the Alberta MLA for the constituency of Highwood (encompassing High River and surrounding areas) submitted its report following the 2005 floods (website link below) Johnston says it included in its recommendations that Alberta Environment develop a maintenance program to ensure that the flood risk maps are updated when appropriate. "This is a recommendation that many in the flood mitigation and hazard response communities would like to see acted upon sooner rather than later."

As well, Johnston says that any future planning process should also include a review of legislation surrounding land development to require that the level of flood hazard must be taken into account in the course of land development decisions.

"The current regulations state that local authorities 'may' require developers to stipulate "…if the land subject to the application is located in a potential flood plain.' The province may wish to raise the bar in light of recent events." http://www.qp.alberta.ca/documents/Regs/2002_043.pdf

Additional Resources:

"Provincial Flood Mitigation Report: Consultation and Recommendations" http://www.aema.alberta.ca/images/News/Provincial_Flood_Mitigation_Report.pdf

The State of Flood Plain Mapping in Ontario (a report prepared for the Catastrophic Loss Reduction Institute of Canada): http://www.iclr.org/images/2007_June_ICLRPRESFloodMapping.pdf

Flood Plain Mapping (overview of BC program): http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/wsd/data_searches/fpm/

FEMA Flood Plain Map Service Center: https://msc.fema.gov/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/FemaWelcomeView?storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&langId=-1

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Contact:

Dr. Tom Johnston, Department of Geography
(403) 329-2534 office
(403) 915-5805 cell
johnston@uleth.ca

Dr. Johnston will be away from the office on August 19, 20 and 21, but can be available via cellphone and e-mail

U of L works to educate new cabinet ministers

trevor.kenney — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 19:32:52 +0000

We are only a month into the new year, but there have already been some significant changes to both the provincial and federal political landscapes. These changes will pave the way for a renewed effort by the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge to continue a dialogue with the government about our strengths and challenges.

Speaking provincially, two former-government MLAs crossed the floor and a cabinet shuffle occurred that included some interesting changes. The most notable changes included Edmonton-based MLA Gene Zwozdesky becoming minister of health, while Calgary MLA Ron Liepert moved to energy. Former Sustainable Resource Development Minister, Ted Morton, became minister of finance and enterprise. The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ will spend time during the coming months educating all new ministers about the impact the U of L makes in their respective areas in terms of teaching and research.

Doug Horner remained minister of advanced education and technology, but was also named Deputy Premier. This certainly speaks to the influence Horner has at the cabinet table.

There were a few other changes that have the potential to change the political landscape for southern Alberta. Former Minister of Agriculture, George Groeneveld, was moved from cabinet (his riding is situated just south of Calgary) leaving minister Rob Renner of Medicine Hat the sole minister south of Calgary. Groeneveld visited our campus three or four times during his tenure as minister and always expressed a willingness to understand the positions of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ.

The U of L, as it has done in the past, will make efforts to build relationships with all relevant ministers through meetings and tours of campus.

While the Lethbridge-area is without a minister, the four government members that are geographically close to the U of L have been handed duties above that of a private member. Lethbridge-West MLA Greg Weadick, for example, has been named parliamentary assistant to the minister of advanced education and technology. The U of L will certainly count on Weadick to help advance ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ messaging to his colleagues in government.

Other local appointments include Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Broyce Jacobs becoming the parliamentary assistant to the minister of agriculture and rural development, Livingstone-Macleod MLA Evan Berger remaining in his role as parliamentary assistant to the minister of sustainable resource development and Little-Bow MLA Barry McFarland being named as a member of the treasury board.

A small cabinet shuffle also occurred at the federal level this month, but the biggest news, as far as the U of L is concerned, is the announcement that Lethbridge MP Rick Casson will not seek another term in office. Casson, a former employee of the U of L, helped move along many files for the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ. He knocked on doors to advance initiatives and was never hesitant to pick up the phone to ask about how a government policy might impact our institution. His work on our behalf was impressive. He will be certainly missed on the federal scene and will leave big shoes to fill.

Building relationships with elected and non-elected government members is important in ensuring effective communication between the U of L and decision-makers in Edmonton and Ottawa. Senior administration at the U of L has already begun to engage and re-engage government members to ensure productive working relationships are forged.

Richard Westlund is the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's director of government relations

UNews - George Groeneveld

Factoring the ‘people equation’ into future flood hazard planning key to helping communities recover

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U of L works to educate new cabinet ministers

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