Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization
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REGIONAL DISTRICT OF CENTRAL KOOTENAY Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization FINAL March 31, 2019 Project No.: 0268004 Prepared by BGC Engineering Inc. for: Regional District of Central Kootenay BGC ENGINEERING INC. 500-980 Howe Street, Vancouver, BC Canada V6Z 0C8 Tel: 604.684.5900 Fax: 604.684.5909 BGC ENGINEERING INC. AN APPLIED EARTH SCIENCES COMPANY Suite 500 - 980 Howe Street Vancouver, BC Canada V6Z 0C8 Telephone (604) 684-5900 Fax (604) 684-5909 March 31, 2019 Project No.: 0268004 Sangita Sudan General Manager of Development Services Regional District of Central Kootenay Box 590, 202 Lakeside Drive Nelson, BC V1L 5R4 Dear Ms. Sudan, Re: Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization – FINAL Please find attached the above referenced report for your review. The web application accompanying this report can be accessed at www.cambiocommunities.ca. User name and password information will be provided in a separate transmission. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned. We appreciate the opportunity to collaborate with you on this challenging and interesting study. Yours sincerely, BGC ENGINEERING INC. per: Kris Holm, M.Sc., P.Geo. Principal Geoscientist BGC ENGINEERING INC. i Regional District of Central Kootenay March 31, 2019 Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization Project No.: 0268004 TABLE OF REVISIONS ISSUE DATE REV REMARKS DRAFT February 15, 2019 Original issue LIMITATIONS BGC Engineering Inc. (BGC) prepared this document for the account of Regional District of Central Kootenay. The material in it reflects the judgment of BGC staff in light of the information available to BGC at the time of document preparation. Any use which a third party makes of this document or any reliance on decisions to be based on it is the responsibility of such third parties. BGC accepts no responsibility for damages, if any, suffered by any third party as a result of decisions made or actions based on this document. As a mutual protection to our client, the public, and ourselves, all documents and drawings are submitted for the information of our client for a specific project. Authorization for any use and/or publication of this document or any data, statements, conclusions or abstracts from or regarding our documents and drawings, through any form of print or electronic media, including without limitation, posting or reproduction of same on any website, is reserved pending BGC’s written approval. BGC hereby gives permission to RDCK to distribute this document to the Province of British Columbia, Government of Canada, Columbia Basin Trust, and local governments and First Nations in the RDCK. A record copy of this document is on file at BGC. That copy takes precedence over any other copy or reproduction of this document. BGC ENGINEERING INC. ii Regional District of Central Kootenay March 31, 2019 Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization Project No.: 0268004 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In July of 2012, a fatal landslide at Johnson’s Landing brought the issue of geohazard risk to the forefront at the community, regional government and provincial government levels. Johnson’s Landing is just one example of many small, rural communities within the RDCK that are subject to geohazards. The Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK, the District) subsequently retained BGC Engineering Inc. (BGC) to carry out a geohazard risk prioritization study for the District. The study objective is to characterize and prioritize flood and steep creek (debris-flood and debris-flow) geohazards in the RDCK that might impact developed properties. The goal is to support decisions that prevent or reduce injury or loss of life, environmental damage, and economic loss due to geohazard events. This study provides the following outcomes across the RDCK: • Identification and prioritization of flood and steep creek geohazard areas based on the principles of risk assessment (i.e., consideration of both hazards and consequences) • Web application access to view prioritized geohazard areas and supporting information • Evaluation of the relative sensitivity of geohazard areas to climate change • Gap identification and recommendations for further work. These outcomes support RDCK to: • Continue operating under existing flood-related policies and bylaws, but based on improved geohazard information and information management tools • Review and potentially revise Official Community Plans (OCPs) and related policies, bylaws, and land use and emergency management plans • Undertake flood resiliency planning, i.e., ability of an area “to prepare and plan for, [resist], recover from, and more successfully adapt to adverse events” (NRC, 2012) • Develop a framework for geohazard risk management, including detailed hazard mapping, risk assessment, and mitigation planning • Prepare funding applications to undertake additional work related to geohazard risk management within the RDCK. This study provides results in several ways: • This report summarizes methods and results, with additional details in appendices. • Web application displaying all prioritized geohazard areas on an online map. This application represents the main way to interact with study results, where users can see large areas at a glance or view results for a single site. Appendix B provides a guide to navigate Cambio CommunitiesTM. • Geodatabase with prioritized geohazard areas. • Appendix I provides an Excel spreadsheet (separate file) with tabulated results. BGC identified and prioritized 427 geohazard areas within the RDCK that might impact developed properties (Table E-1). These areas encompass about 1,400 km2 and include the most populous BGC ENGINEERING INC. iii Regional District of Central Kootenay March 31, 2019 Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization Project No.: 0268004 and developed parts of the District. Compared to the entire RDCK, about 16% of the Census population, 32% of assessed building value, 13% of business locations, and most of the major transportation routes are within or cross these areas. Figure E-1 summarizes the number of prioritized areas in different administrative areas. The prioritized geohazard areas are also crossed by transportation and utility networks that connect RDCK communities, broader areas across southern BC, and southward into the United States of America. This high degree of connection with provincial, national and cross-border infrastructure networks, which are also subject to a high level of hazard exposure, underscores the importance of coordinated geohazard risk management within the District. Table E-1. Number of prioritized areas in the RDCK, by geohazard type. Priority Level Geohazard Type Very Grand Total High Moderate Low Low Clear-Water Floods 27 14 63 0 104 (water courses and water bodies) Steep Creeks (Fans) 15 56 180 72 323 Grand Total (Count) 42 70 243 72 427 Grand Total (%) 10% 16% 57% 17% 100% BGC ENGINEERING INC. iv Regional District of Central Kootenay March 31, 2019 Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization Project No.: 0268004 Figure E-1. Number of prioritized geohazard areas by type and jurisdiction. BGC ENGINEERING INC. v Regional District of Central Kootenay March 31, 2019 Flood and Steep Creek Geohazard Risk Prioritization Project No.: 0268004 Table E-2 highlights clear-water flood watercourse and steep creek geohazard areas identified as higher priority for further assessment. These areas were selected as examples only, and the full list of prioritized areas should be reviewed for decision making. There are additional factors for risk management and policy making that are outside the scope of this assessment, that RDCK may also consider when reviewing prioritization results. Hazard Code Jurisdiction Hazard Type Geohazard Process Name 340 Village of Salmo Clear-Water Floods Flood (watercourse) Salmo River 372 Village of Slocan Clear-Water Floods Flood (watercourse) Slocan River 379 RDCK Electoral Area B Clear-Water Floods Flood (watercourse) Moyie River 393 Town of Creston Clear-Water Floods Flood (watercourse) Goat River – Creston 408 RDCK Electoral Area A Clear-Water Floods Flood (watercourse) Crawford Creek 422 City of Nelson Clear-Water Floods Flood (waterbody) Kootenay Lake 423 Village of Kaslo Clear-Water Floods Flood (watercourse) Kaslo R at Kaslo 425 RDCK Electoral Area B Clear-water Floods Flood (watercourse) Goat River 375 RDCK Electoral Area K Clear-water Floods Flood (watercourse) Burton 376 RDCK Electoral Area I Clear-water Floods Flood (watercourse) Norris Creek 378 RDCK Electoral Area K Clear-water Floods Flood (watercourse) Inonoaklin Creek 424 RDCK Electoral Area H Clear-water Floods Flood (watercourse) Bonanaza Creek 95 RDCK Electoral Area K Steep Creeks Flood Eagle Creek 212 RDCK Electoral Area F Steep Creeks Flood Duhamel 242 RDCK Electoral Area E Steep Creeks Debris Flood Harrop Creek 116 RDCK Electoral Area E Steep Creeks Debris Flood Proctor Creek 251 RDCK Electoral Area E Steep Creeks Debris Flood Redfish 252 RDCK Electoral Area F Steep Creeks Flood Kokanee 249 RDCK Electoral Area C Steep Creeks Flood Corn Creek - E 36 RDCK Electoral Area A Steep Creeks Debris Flow Kuskonook 192 RDCK Electoral Area K Steep Creeks Debris Flow Rokos Creek 205 RDCK Electoral Area K Steep Creeks Debris Flow Unnamed Creek 91 RDCK Electoral Area D Steep Creeks Debris Flow Gar Creek 306 RDCK Electoral Area E Steep Creeks Debris Flow Heather Creek 172 RDCK Electoral Area K Steep Creeks Debris Flow Dixon Creek 154 City of Castlegar Steep Creeks Flood Norns Creek