Flood Management Plan

As climate change progresses, communities located near the ocean and rivers, including the City of Courtenay, are experiencing impacts from increased flooding. Flood risk is increasing due to factors such as extreme precipitation, storm surge, sea level rise, and land use change.

To address this risk, the City of Courtenay is working with a team of consultants on the next phase of the Flood Management Plan.  This project aims to understand the risk of flood to our community and develop risk reduction strategies that reflect community priorities.

Visit Flood Management Plan FAQs to learn more about flood peparedness. 

Get Involved!

The City of Courtenay’s Flood Management Plan will include opportunities for interested and affected parties, K’ómoks First Nation rights and title holders, and local residents to provide their feedback and inform this important collaborative effort to address flood risk across our community. 

Stay Informed

Sign up for email updates below, join our social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram), and stay tuned to find out about opportunities to participate and provide your input!  

Project Background

In the City of Courtenay, flood risk is present along the shoreline and the river systems.  With changes in water levels from both the ocean and rivers, we are taking proactive steps to reduce impacts of future flood events.

Future sea level rise and its impacts on water levels next to the sea.

Riverine flooding and its impacts within the floodplain.

 This Flood Management Plan will facilitate complex decision making, as we consider the trade-offs associated with reducing flood risk over the short- and long-term. The Plan will be informed by past work, including the recent City of Courtenay OCP, the CVRD Coastal Flood Mapping Project, and CVRD Coastal Flood Adaptation Strategy, along with other flood-related projects previously conducted at the City of Courtenay.

Plan development involves creating flood consequence maps to determine who and what is at risk of flooding in Courtenay - considering people, buildings, critical infrastructure, cultural sites, and the environment. These maps will be used in a multi-phased public engagement process to identify risk reduction strategies preferred by the community. The engagement process will help us understand different perspectives and key priorities held by interested and affected parties, rights and title holders, and local residents.

The objectives of this work are:

1. To outline a long-term strategy (what needs to be done, by when)
2. To recommend specific actions for the next 5 years
3. To align this approach with international best practices, including the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, and the upcoming BC Flood Strategy.

For more detailed information:

• Public Information Session Recording - June 15, 2023
• Flood Consequence Maps (maps are best viewed on a computer)
• Flood Risk and Resilience 101 [PDF - 2 MB]
• Ways to Take Action  [PDF - 2 MB]

Related Reading

The following links are provided as additional resources for understanding flood risk, planning for flooding in BC and Canada, and responding to flooding as a homeowner or household. These come from a range of sources and may not be directly applicable to specific flood risks in Courtenay.

• Local
  • City of Courtenay OCP – 2022 Update
  • CVRD Flood Adaptation Strategy
    • Glossary of related terms can be found on pg. 98.
• CVRD Coastal Flood Mapping Project
• Provincial / National
  • ClimateReadyBC: Floods in B.C.
  • BC Adapts Short Videos
  • BC Adapts: Planning for Sea Level Rise
  • Sea Level Rise Adaptation Primer
• For Homeowners
  • Regional District of Central Okanagan's Non-Structural Flood Mitigation Resource Guide (RDCO)
  • Homeowner’s Guide to Property Flood Resilience
  • Brisbane City’s Flood Resilient Homes Program
  • Reducing Flood Risk to Residential Buildings That Cannot Be Elevated
  • Retrofitting for Flood Resilience (excerpt) 

Want more information?