Study Board Releases Potential Structural Solutions Report
May 17, 2021
For Immediate Release
The International Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Flood Study Board released a new report: “Potential Structural Solutions to Mitigate Flooding in the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River Basin.”
The report is one of several the Study Board will be releasing in 2021, leading up to the study’s final report to the International Joint Commission, planned for March 2022.
The report describes several moderate structural actions that were assessed by study experts. These were evaluated based on a wide range of criteria.
Options include excavating man-made structures within the Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu shoal, diverting moderate to high flows through the Chambly Canal and a combination of these two options.
An initial feasibility analysis was completed on each option, while the study is continuing further cost-benefits analysis and hydraulic simulations and evaluations.
The study’s main goals are to develop solutions to reduce high water levels, and to reduce vulnerability to high water and build flood resilience. Investigations into achieving these two goals have focused on four central themes: reduce water levels, slow-down inflows to the lake and river, flood plain management and flood response.
Background
The Study Board was appointed by the International Joint Commission in 2017 to respond to a request by the Canadian and US governments to explore causes, impacts, risks and solutions to mitigate flooding in the Lake Champlain-Richelieu River basin.
The study seeks to:
- Recommend measures to mitigate flooding and its impacts across the basin
- Develop and recommend the implementation of a binational, real-time flood forecasting and flood inundation mapping system
- Determine public, community and stakeholder desirability of the proposed measures.
Quotes:
Deborah Lee, the US Study Co-Chair stated: “I’m pleased to see the publication of this report. It speaks to the challenges of finding effective structural solutions to reducing floods without undue impact to the environment and important cultural resources.”
For more information, contact:
Jeff Kart 989-372-1229 Jeff.Kart@ijc.org
Christina Chiasson 613-293-1031 Christina.Chiasson@ijc.org