2019-2020

Flood Projects in the Thompson River Watershed

Following completion of the Thompson Watershed Risk Assessment, the Fraser Basin Council is overseeing two new projects in the Thompson River Watershed in the Fall of 2019:

• LIDAR acquisition and
• base-level floodplain mapping.

A project advisory committee has been established — with representation from elected officials and staff from local government, First Nations and the Province of BC. Information on the work of the Advisory Committee, and materials related to this work, are available on Thompson Flood Resources.

LIDAR Acquisition

This map shows areas (marked in purple) of the Thompson River Watershed slated for a LIDAR survey. View larger size map (PDF).

LIDAR data will be collected in the Thompson watershed, beginning in the Fall of 2019. The project data will allow for production of detailed, up-to-date topographic maps and enable detailed floodplain mapping in the future. The deliverables of the project are intended to be shared with all orders of government in the watershed. The work is slated to complete in March, 2020.

This project is funded by the National Disaster Mitigation Program, funded equally by Public Safety Canada and Emergency Management BC.

Base-Level Floodplain Mapping

This map shows the sites chosen for base level floodplain mapping in the Thompson-Nicola and Cariboo Regional Districts. View larger size map (PNG).

A floodplain mapping project is underway to help fill basic information gaps identified in the Thompson Watershed risk assessment. The floodplain mapping will be at a base (screening) level, covering 478 square km across 11 floodplain sites in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and one site in the Cariboo Regional District.

The expected outcomes include hydrologic analysis results and screening-level flood hazard maps at a level of detail suitable for:

• Identification of sites that may be subject to flood hazards
• Prioritization of sites for detailed study
• Conversations at the community and regional level that centre around flood risk, including mitigation strategies to reduce existing or future flood risk.

The floodplain mapping project is funded by the Union of BC Municipalities Community Emergency Preparedness Fund program. It will complete in May 2020.