UNews - Governor

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

Casson earns Privy Council appointment

trevor.kenney — Tue, 05 Oct 2010 20:32:10 +0000

Former ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge employee and current Member of Parliament, Rick Casson, was recently appointed to Privy Council by Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of National Defence, Laurie Hawn, joins Casson as the two newest Privy Councillors.

"I am pleased today to announce the appointments of Laurie Hawn and Rick Casson as Privy Councillors, following their many years of dedication and hard work in the House of Commons, including on Canada's engagement in Afghanistan," says Harper. "Both Mr. Hawn and Mr. Casson continue to meet the highest standards of public service to the benefit of their constituents and all Canadians."

Long recognized as an honourable man by the constituents of his southern Alberta riding, Casson now carries the official designation of "Honourable" to the Queen's Privy Council for Canada following a ceremony at Rideau Hall.

Prior to his election as a Member of Parliament, Casson served for many years as a ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge employee (manager of the printing services department), and as a community volunteer and elected county representative in his hometown of Picture Butte, Alta.

"This is an unexpected and very special honour," says Casson.

His Excellency the Right Honourable David Johnston, only hours after being sworn-in as the 28th Governor General of Canada, presided over Casson's swearing in ceremony.

Privy Councillors are members of The Queen's Privy Council for Canada, established under the Constitution Act, 1867 to advise the Crown. The Privy Council includes all past and present ministers, as well as a number of select persons. The Governor General, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, appoints members to Privy Council.

"I am very grateful to Prime Minister Harper for considering me for this appointment, which is given to very few Canadians outside the ranks of government ministers, governor generals and chief justices," says Casson.

"It was an honour to have Canada's new governor general preside over my swearing in as Privy Council member among his inaugural duties, as I had attended Mr. Johnston's own swearing-in ceremony earlier today."

Casson is a five-term Member of Parliament, who has been named Chair of the Special Committee on the Canadian Mission in Afghanistan and Chair of the Alberta Caucus. He was also named the Canadian Chair of the Permanent Joint Board on Defence, a Canadian-American advisory body established at Ogdensburg, NY in 1940 by Prime Minister Mackenzie King and United States President F.D. Roosevelt.

"On behalf of the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge we would like to congratulate Rick on being appointed as a member of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada," says U of L Board of Governors Chair Bob Turner.

"The fact that very few Canadians are appointed as Privy Councillor makes this appointment all the more exceptional. Canada, and more specifically southern Alberta, is a better place because of his service."

U of L President Mike Mahon adds that, considering the contributions Casson has made to the university, as both an employee and elected Member of Parliament, the U of L could not be more proud of his appointment.

"The U of L has benefited enormously from Rick's hard work over the years, and we cannot think of a more worthy person to receive this prestigious appointment."

Town Hall Meeting will update budgetary process

trevor.kenney — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 18:16:35 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge President Dr. Bill Cade chats about what's happening in the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ community

This past spring, the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ held a town hall meeting for staff and faculty to address issues surrounding the economic downturn and an expected shortfall in the provincial operating grant.

At that time, much of what we talked about was based on speculation and an expectation that the provincial funding grant increases for the years 2010 and 2011 would come in at zero per cent.

As you read this Billboard, senior administration has just returned from a meeting in Edmonton with Advanced Education Minister, Hon. Doug Horner. He invited the board of governor Chairs and presidents from the province's post-secondary institutions to discuss the state of the provincial budget and what the allocations will be to the post-secondary system.

Now that we have this information, I invite everyone to attend the Friday, Oct. 9, Town Hall Meeting so that we may discuss the ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ's financial situation further. The feedback from the previous town hall was generally positive and some very good ideas were generated as a result. I expect Friday's town hall will be just as beneficial.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ just recently unveiled a Voluntary Retirement Program as one measure aimed at alleviating some of the financial stress on our operating budget. It is hard to say what impact this initiative will have but it has already received a number of inquiries. The nature of our organization, as with any educational institution, is that salaries make up the majority of the operating budget and all avenues are being explored to best handle the expected shortfall in provincial funding.

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ celebrated a major event last month with the grand opening of the new Community Sports Stadium. The festivities were spectacular by any measure. I'm still thrilled by the Friday night football games featuring four of our local high school programs. I have no rooting interest in any of these teams and yet I was swept up in the emotion of the evening. The traffic, the people, the spirit of the stadium was truly alive. Our own Pronghorn teams then carried that momentum over into Saturday, making it a very memorable weekend.

Another good news story this month is the realization of our largest enrolment figure to date. At 8,248 students, we are well ahead of last year's Fall Semester numbers, which is a testament to the hard work of many ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ departments. At one point, projected enrolment saw us at a 17 per cent decline from the previous year, but as is the nature of the U of L, a concentrated interdepartmental effort tackled the challenge and produced wonderful results.

Congratulations to Dr. Reg Bibby, recently honoured by the Confederation of Alberta Faculty Associations (CAFA) with the CAFA Distinguished Academic Award for 2009. One of our most recognized faculty members due to his groundbreaking and oft-cited research interests, this honour is well deserved.

I am looking forward to celebrating another graduating class at the Fall 2009 Convocation later this month. With Son Soubert and Paul Brandt here to receive honorary degrees, as well as the return of our first Rhodes Scholar, Dr. Cheryl Misak, as the Alumna of the Year, it promises to be a prominent event.

UNews - Governor

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

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Casson earns Privy Council appointment

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