Alberta to ban development on floodways

Following the floods in southern Alberta three weeks ago, the provincial government has announced that it will introduce legislation to ban developments on floodways. An announcement on July 14 by Doug Griffiths, chair of the Ministerial Flood Recovery Task Force, said that the government would be consulting municipalities about the forthcoming legislation in the coming weeks.

The government also announced that in future, anyone who owns a home on a flood fringe area who does not take measures to protect their property against a 1-in-100 flood event will not be eligible for Disaster Recovery Program assistance. The announcement said nothing about commercial, industrial or other types of non-residential properties.

To help homes already in floodways, the government says it will provide funding through the Disaster Recovery Program to rebuild or relocate to a new location outside a flood risk areas. For homes in “flood fringe” areas there will also be funding available for infrastructure such as berms and water control structures to protect buildings against floods.

The new policies bring Alberta into line with provinces such as Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec which already limit development in flood hazard areas.

To read the press release, click here.