From: Diane Downey [[email protected]]
    Sent: March 4, 2013 11:49 AM
    To: Diane Downey
    Cc: RVCA All Staff List
    Subject: Media Release: RVCA Completes Tay River Floodplain Mapping Project

    Follow Up Flag: Follow up
    Flag Status: Red

    Media Release

    RVCA Completes Tay River Floodplain Mapping Project

    LANARK COUNTY, March 4, 2013 — The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority (RVCA) has just completed a floodplain mapping project along the Tay River. The project has identified flood prone areas along the river — areas that are expected to be inundated during extreme flood events.
     
    The last floodplain mapping in this area was completed in 1981 and only covered the river from Glen Tay Road to the Tay Marsh. Now 30 years old, this project will replace old mapping and produce new mapping for the following watercourses:
     

    • Tay River - from Glen Tay Road to Lower Rideau Lake
    • Grants Creek - from Glen Tay Road to the confluence with Tay River
    • Jebbs Creek - from the Otty Lake outlet (at Rideau Ferry Road) to the confluence with Tay River

    Using the latest hydrologic and topographic data and well-established practices in water resources engineering, the 1:100 year flood flow, regulatory flood levels and corresponding floodplain limits were estimated throughout the study area.
     
    A public open house was held on December 11, 2012 at the Public Library in Perth to show and explain the flood risk and regulation limit lines to the public. Twenty-six members of the public, as well as four RVCA Board Members and three municipal staff attend the open house. In general, local residents felt the flood hazard areas identified through this study were reasonable and consistent with their personal experiences and observations.
     
    The RVCA Board of Directors approved the new mapping at its last meeting on February 28. These maps will now be used by municipal and RVCA planners to determine where development should and should not be located. These maps, like their counterparts on river systems across Ontario, are the cornerstones for keeping people and property safe during high water events. The specialists call this floodplain management. It really boils down to protecting people and property against flooding by knowing where the flood risk is and then controlling construction of residences and other developments in those flood-prone areas.

    The technical report is now available on the RVCA website at www.rvca.ca for public viewing and downloading. Anyone interested in seeing the maps can contact Kellie (ext.1128) or Megan (ext. 1132) at 1-800-267-3504 or 613-692-3571.
     
    Rideau Valley Conservation Authority is a partnership of municipalities created under the Conservation Authorities Act to deliver a range of programs in natural resource conservation within the Rideau Valley watershed.

    — end —

    For more information, contact:
    Ferdous Ahmed
    RVCA Senior Water Resources Engineer
    1-800-267-3504 ext. 1170
    [email protected]