Both the federal government and the provincial government of Ontario have pledged funding to help properly prepare the province against flood risk.
On behalf of the Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, Liberal MP for Sudbury Paul Lefebvre announced $180,000 in federal funding to Ontario under the National Disaster Mitigation Program. Conservation Sudbury is also contributing $180,000 in matching funding, utilizing targeted reserves accumulated through the municipal tax levy, a government release said.
The two-year funding project will be used to support floodplain mapping of the Junction Creek watershed by Conservation Sudbury; the area was last mapped 38 years ago.
The updated maps and models will provide the city of Greater Sudbury and Atikameksheng Anishnawbek First Nation with “a valuable tool to help guide land-use policies and decisions,” a statement from Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness Canada said.
“Weather-related natural disasters are getting more severe, more frequent, more damaging and more expensive. This is a threat not only to the safety of our communities, but to our economic stability. The Government of Canada is determined to reduce these risks in partnership with provinces and territories,” said Lefebvre in a statement.
“This funding provided by Public Safety Canada enables Conservation Sudbury to update mapping that is nearly 40 years old. Much has changed in the Junction Creek watershed since the floodplain was first delineated. New technologies will be applied to recent data collected by the City of Greater Sudbury and the Province of Ontario that will allow dynamic models to be produced based on complete, highly-accurate mapping,” added Conservation Sudbury chairperson Lin Gibson.
