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:
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]