Province middle of the pack for flood preparedness
Province receives praise for reaction, but staggers in planning
A new report from the University of Waterloo puts New Brunswick in the middle of the pack for flood preparedness, but the Conservation Council says that doesn't paint a full picture.
Louise Comeau, the director of climate change and energy solutions for the Conservation Council of New Brunswick, said while the province received a C plus grade, there's still more work to be done.
"We need to move from a reactive point of view, or frame of reference, to proactive, long-term planning and prevention approach to these issues," said Comeau.
Comeau said the province does well when reacting to an emergency situation, but doesn't do as well when planning for floods before they happen.
Sussex flooding
One New Brunswick community now dealing with flooding is Sussex. The geographic realities of the community, including the largely gravel foundation the town rests on, increases the likelihood of flooding, according to Sussex Mayor Marc Thorne.
"The majority of Sussex is at risk with this type of flooding," said Thorne.
The type of flooding varies in the town – from rivers and streams overflowing their banks due to weather events, to ground water seeping into basements.
"There's no one cause for our floods and there's no one solution," said Thorne.
A proactive approach
The town has taken a proactive approach to flooding in recent years.
"We have initiated or created a rebate policy whereby homeowners within the community, if they would undertake anything at all, anything they could do to mitigate that type of flooding [would make them eligible]," said Thorne.
The rebate is capped at $3,000, which Thorne said council is considering raising, and includes funding for everything from landscaping to raising homes above the flood level.
"With everything you do there's going to be a reaction somewhere else. If you install a berm in one part of the town, it is going to affect what happens [elsewhere,]" said Thorne.
The one area of town where he believes a berm would be appropriate is the commercial district on the west side of Sussex.
"They're slab on grade. They don't have full foundations and we do have an opening that I think we could seal fairly easily," said Thorne.
Thorne said the project would cost $900,000.
With files from Shift and Information Morning Moncton.