Coastal Flood Risk Assessment Guidelines for Building and Infrastructure Design

Client:

National Research Council (NRC) Canada

Timing:

January 2019 to November 2020

Location:

Canada (federal project)

Their challenge

The Canadian Government, along with other jurisdictions invests in billions of dollars of infrastructure every year, some of this on along Canada’s many coasts. These coastal areas are subject to coastal hazards, which are changing and increasing with climate change.

To support decision-making for investment in coastal infrastructure and create consistency in assessments, the National Research Council (NRC) proposed the development of a coastal flood risk assessment guideline. The goal of which was to inform the flood-resilient design and rehabilitation of buildings and infrastructure in coastal flood hazard areas.

Our solution

Ebbwater Consulting joined the small co-author team under the lead of NRC to lead content development for part of the guidelines, and to provide peer-review on the entire document.

Ebbwater researched international best practice in the field and drew on our practical experience developing flood risk assessments in coastal areas to develop realistic methods given available data and tools. The guidelines include suggestions for stakeholder and partner engagement, recommendations for establishing design criteria for buildings and infrastructure to address coastal flood risk, and strategies for mitigating coastal flood risks and adapting to changes in risk over time.

These guidelines were published in English and French and are being applied by others across the country.