Floodplain policy and practice in the credit river watershed, ontario

Abstract

Analysis of floodplain policy and practice in the Credit River watershed in Ontario revealed that although there has been an increase in the use of non-structural adjustments, municipalities and residents favour structural adjustments to reduce flood hazard at the community level. Several factors contribute to discourage wide spread acceptance and adoption of non-structural adjustments. First, available financial arrangements provide an incentive for water managers to select structural solutions rather than non-structural adjustments. Second, enforcement of non-structural floodplain management alternatives is difficult. Third, communication problems among residents and resource agencies often undermine adjustments, such as flood warning systems. Fourth, jurisdictional fragmentation among resource agencies results in overlapping responsibilities and duplication of management activities which mitigate against a systematic and integrated approach to reducing urban flood problems and allows agencies to evade their responsibilities. These findings support results from an earlier study of floodplain policy and practice in the Grand River watershed in Ontario, and suggest that similar trends may predominate in other Ontario watersheds. © Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.