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The following article is from an archived newsletter. See our Shared Waters newsletter.

Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study Board Holds Virtual Public Meetings on Flooding

Photo of Christina Chiasson
Chrissy Chiasson
IJC
kevin bunch
Kevin Bunch
fisk point

The IJC’s Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study Board’s work has continued despite the COVID-19 pandemic. The study board’s members held virtual public meetings at the end of September to update attendees on progress to date.

As a result of the pandemic, the board canceled its planned 2020 in-person spring public meetings in Quebec, New York and Vermont. In their place, the board held four virtual public meetings (two in French and two in English) on September 29-30 using the Microsoft Teams video communication platform.

In advance of the public meetings, four short videos covering various study themes were released to help further the public’s knowledge on the study.

The themes of these videos are: “Causes and Impacts,”Flooding Myths,” “Storing Flood Waters” and “Structural Mitigation Measures in the Richelieu River.”

The meetings were well-attended, with about 150 participants across the four sessions. The meetings consisted of a 30-minute presentation from study co-chairs, followed by a question and answer period, and a chance for the public to participate in a poll to indicate their interest for topics to be discussed during a series of weekly technical webinars which began earlier this month.

flood graphs
A graph depicting four major floods in the basin at Rouses Point, New York, located on the border with Quebec. Credit: Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Study Board

The presentation provided an overview of the study’s progress to date. Study co-chairs, Jean-François Cantin of Canada and Deborah Lee from the United States noted that flooding is likely to be a recurring issue in the future and discussed the two main objectives of the study:  to identify and recommend mitigation measures to reduce high water levels and to reduce flood vulnerability. A PDF version of the presentation provided during the public meetings is available here.

Highlights of the presentation include: an update from the board co-chairs about the flood mitigation solutions being assessed, including structural, water storage, improved flood forecasting and response, and floodplain management solutions.

Structural options are being evaluated in terms of their feasibility, financial and technical viability, fairness and equitability to upstream and downstream interests, environmental acceptability and resilience to climate change. Modifying the Chambly Canal to receive floodwaters also is being studied further based on this assessment.

Further, the presentation discussed the role that wetlands can play in reducing the magnitude of floods in the basin. A report detailing the study’s look at wetlands and floodplains is expected in 2021. The presentation discussed several other projects being undertaken by the study and the timeline of projected release dates for major reports and final study recommendations; the final study report is expected in March 2022.  

Input from the public varied across the four meetings, with interest about the causes of flooding being investigated, how various mitigation measures might impact specific locations in the basin and how knowledge gained through the study is being shared with communities. Curiosity also was voiced about what personal actions might mitigate future flood damage, and concern conveyed about how long it may take to finalize the recommendations.  

Board members recommend that people stay informed on local floodplain management policies and emergency response measures (including forecasts and flood safety tips and resources from National Weather Service) and consider implementing green infrastructure such as vegetative buffers along the shoreline, which are preferable to hard structures such as sea walls.

Upcoming Events

The study board recently began a series of weekly technical webinars to provide more details on various elements of the study. Some of the topics include an overview of performance indicators, the Chambly Canal diversion, use of wetlands and temporary flooding of farmland for flood mitigation, how climate change is being assessed in the study, improvements to flood forecasting and floodplain management considerations.

The webinars run through January 2021; learn more details and register to participate here.

Photo of Christina Chiasson
Chrissy Chiasson
IJC

Christina Chiasson is a policy analyst for the Canadian Section of the IJC in Ottawa, Ontario.

kevin bunch
Kevin Bunch

Kevin Bunch is a writer-communications specialist at the IJC’s US Section office in Washington, D.C.

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