Flood Planning and Emergency Response
Waters Edge Engineering is a go-to company for local municipalities and governments for emergency flood response in BC. We are local and able to get to site quickly; we can assist efficiently in an emergency, and we are familiar with resources available to protect your shoreline. We developed a toolkit for the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) for the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO) to effectively protect vulnerable shorelines from waves on flood waters using readily available cost-efficient materials. We are working with many municipalities to receive Disaster Financial Assistance (DFA), and taking the projects through design and construction.
Waters Edge Engineering can support your emergency response team in the following ways:
- Flood risk assessments (pre-emergency planning)
- Emergency response to flooding – assessments and effective emergency protection guidance, accounting for wave action
- Post-flood assessment & cost estimate for repairs (for submission to EMBC)
- Engineered design and construction services to repair flood damages or prevent flood damages, tailored to your needs
Kelowna, 2017
Cedar Creek Park, scour damage across the pathway from waves during the 2017 flood. Photo taken during the emergency response.
What happens when you don’t have a wave expert on the team?
The gabions in the photo were installed as flood protection. However, they are not effective in a wave climate without making some modifications. Remember – flooding is more than high water – there can be wind-wave events during the high water that carry more energy to the shoreline than during normal water levels. Therefore, causing more damages.
Kelowna, 2018 flood event.
Log booms at Maude-Roxby Bird Sanctuary, Waters Edge Engineering managed the procurement, costing and implementation of log boom breakwaters during the 2018 flood event to minimize the wave energy and therefore damages. The log booms were installed in Kelowna at Maude-Roxby and, City Park, and in Peachland at Swim Bay.
