Flood Risk Assessment

Approach

Your flood risk assessment project requires a team of specialists who can bridge the technical challenge of number crunching with the softer side of understanding the intangible and systemic impacts of disaster. Our team of experienced engineers, scientists, and data analysts work with planning and engagement associates to answer questions such as “what matters to you”, “what do you care about that’s in the way of the way water” and “where should we prioritize resources to make our communities safer?”. In other words, we use a risk-based approach to support your tough decisions on risk reduction and mitigation planning – for local communities, regional districts, or at the Provincial/Territorial scale.

We work through a standard process based on principles of ISO 31000 to layer information on the character of the hazard and exposed and vulnerable elements to establish the consequences and risks of these interacting. When appropriate, we also follow other provincial and federal guidance documents (heck, we should, we wrote many of them) that are specific to coastal environments, multi-hazard assessments, inclusion of Indigenous values, etc.

We leverage our technical expertise to create scientifically-robust and comprehensive products. But, unlike many assessment teams, to get a fulsome picture, we also draw input from those who live in your community. With a focus on building relationships and fostering dialogue, we conduct field trips and tailor workshops to listen and learn key insights from Rights holders, stakeholders, other partners, and the general public.

We provide actionable solutions to support emergency management and land use planning initiatives. Flood risk maps and risk matrices are foundational outputs of our work. Our reporting takes the form of concise and understandable summaries for decision-makers, as well as detailed technical reports to document our methodologies and assumptions and to enable future experts to quickly pick up the thread.

Tools

QGIS (including plugins like Natural Resources Canada’s CanFlood tool)
R and Python Programming Codes

Methodology

We constantly seek best practice guidance from around the world—and lead their development for senior-level governments at home. This forms the basis of our risk methods, which are ever-evolving to meet the needs of our clients.

We use open-source, non-proprietary tools for our analysis. We strongly believe in the use of open-source tools, and working and exchanging within a collaborative open-source community. We also follow repeatable science-based principles, ensuring that each step of our analysis is meticulously documented, either in programming code, or via detailed readme documents. We further employ strict quality control, where each technical output step is reviewed and signed off by senior engineers and scientists.

Outcomes

Communities that partner with Ebbwater can expect an open, collaborative approach that is technically robust, grounded in best practice, and will reflect your community’s individual needs. At the end of the project, you will have a clear and more holistic understanding of what is at risk in your community, and how this risk can be reduced now and in a changing future. This will be communicated in our easy-to-understand reports, maps, and graphics.

Testimonials

Over the course of 3 years of working with Ebbwater Consulting…, I have been impressed by their genuine enthusiasm and deep knowledge of flood risk and climate adaptation. I would be very happy to recommend Ebbwater as a consultant.

– Doug Smith
Acting Director, Sustainability Group, City of Vancouver

…I gotta say this is some really good work! There was a lot of creativity and applied engineering in your approaches and I know the thoughtfulness that went into making this a strong deliverable to the communities of BC…

– Mitchell Hahn
Former Head Flood Safety Section, MFLNRORD

Trusted by

From institutions at any level, from the Federal Government of Canada to rural municipalities, to private real estate developers—we’re trusted to bring a community-focused lens to flood management planning.