The Ministry of the Environment says it is open to creating a specific zone for neighborhoods located near a flood protection structure (OPI), such as a dike, in order to avoid these sectors being automatically classified as a high or very high risk flood zone.
In the new regulations on flood zones proposed by the government which should be adopted in the spring, the supervision of OPIs has sparked a lot of criticism from municipalities which have such installations on their territory. In Châteauguay, for example, 400 residences are in a flood zone according to the new preliminary maps, although they are protected by a dike. According to this regulation, municipalities will have to prove the usefulness of the installation.
The Montreal Metropolitan Community, which represents 82 municipalities in Greater Montreal, recommends that the government create a separate zone to prevent residences from finding themselves in a very high risk zone for a year or two before switching to a low zone when the utility of the dike will be demonstrated.
“It’s a recommendation that we found interesting and that we are currently evaluating,” said Jean Bissonnette, assistant deputy minister for water and water expertise and policies. air, during a technical briefing for the media on November 22. He added that the Ministry of the Environment is also evaluating what it can do to help municipalities.
Fewer residences affected than expected?
Mr. Bissonnette recalled that the objective of modernizing the regulations on flood zones is not to harm citizens or to relocate those who are at risk, “but to increase their security and protect their property while protecting the environment.
He also stressed that the number of housing units affected by future flood zone maps could be revised downwards. In June, when the draft regulation was submitted, the government mentioned that 77,000 housing units would be affected. The Deputy Minister specifies, however, that there will still be several thousand residences added to the flood zones, since several sectors were not previously mapped.
Insurance and home values
Mr. Bissonnette wanted to be reassuring to citizens who have fears about the value of their home and plan to have difficulty obtaining mortgage loans or insurance.
Despite the flooding, houses continue to be sold and bought. He cited Saint-Jean-sur-Richelieu as an example where significant flooding occurred in 2011. “The houses have increased in value,” he stressed. He cited a study by Ouranos that concluded that homes increase in value despite losses over time. Ouranos estimates between 4 and 8% loss of value after the flood, but it picks up after 4 to 7 years.”
As for insurance, the Ministry of the Environment points out that the government has compensation programs in the event of major disasters. Mr. Bissonnette also points out that it may be interesting to see if the insurance contract includes an endorsement for flooding.
Previously, flood zones were classified according to high current zones (0-20 year zone) and low current zones (20-100 year recurrence zone). In the first case, this meant that there was a 5% risk of being flooded each year while the second, it represented a 1% risk. In the new regulations there will be four zones ranging from low to very high.
