RVCA Open House:
Draft Flood Mapping For the Tay River
RIDEAU VALLEY, November 23, 2012 — New, draft flood plain mapping is now available for the Tay River from Glen Tay
Road to Lower Rideau Lake. This includes mapping within the Town of Perth and
Port Elmsley. The Rideau Valley Conservation Authority has completed the draft
maps that show the areas along the river that are subject to flooding and where
new development will need to consider the identified flood hazard in land use
planning decisions.
Everyone is welcome to view and provide comments
at an open house on Tuesday, December 11 from 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Perth and
District Union Library.
RVCA engineers created the new maps using
recent data and advanced, industry-standard engineering methods. The RVCA wants
to check the calculations by making use of every bit of information we can
obtain about the historical observations along the Tay River. Residents and
landowners along the river may have anecdotal or documented information such as
photographs or journal entries of their observation during past high water
events. This kind of information can be very useful for evaluating the “reasonableness” of the flood lines shown on the maps and the study team is
interested in reviewing any past flood evidence that people may wish to
share.
These maps, like their counterparts on river systems across
Ontario, are the corner stone for keeping people and property safe. Controlling
development on a watershed basis has long been recognized as the most
cost-effective and environmentally-acceptable way to consistently manage the
risk associated with floods and other natural hazards area. Once approved by the
RVCA Board of Directors, RVCA staff will use the maps for defining areas that
are subject to flood hazards along the waterway. The new mapping will also be
used by local municipalities when updating their Official Plans and Zoning
Schedules and in the review of other related Planning Act
applications.
Maps showing the updated flood risk areas will be on
display. When finalized, these flood risk maps will be used by planners to
determine where development should and should not be located. These maps, like
their counterparts on river systems across Ontario, are the corner stone for
keeping people and property safe during high water events. The maps will also
show the regulation lines which are based on flood risk, presence of wetlands,
and steep slope considerations.
The last floodplain mapping in this
area was completed in 1981 and covered the river from Glen Tay Road to the Tay
Marsh. Now 30 years old, the maps need updating. No flood plain mapping has ever
been done for the river downstream of the Tay Marsh. The current project will
replace the old mapping and produce new mapping downstream of the Marsh. The
RVCA finished mapping upstream of Glen Tay Road to the Christie Lake outlet in
2009.
Please join us:
Tay River Flood Mapping Open
House
Tuesday, December 11, 2012
3:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Perth Union
Library
30 Herriott Street, Perth
- end -
For more information,
contact:
Stephanie Schreiner
Engineering
Assistant
Rideau Valley Conservation Authority
613-692-3571 or
1-800-267-3504 ext. 1104
[email protected]