Grand Forks and the Boundary Region Flood Response

The Grand Forks model of flood response and recovery was based on a partnership between the Regional District of Kootenay-Boundary Emergency Program, the City of Grand Forks, and multi- stakeholder leadership from across a number of sectors in the community. The flood had significant social, psychological and health impacts on the community, particularly for the low-income, homeless/precariously housed, elderly, women and Indigenous peoples. The neighbourhoods that were most impacted were North and South Ruckle and Johnson Flats. These neighbourhoods include a larger proportion of rental housing than other parts of Grand Forks as well as many older houses in need of maintenance and repair.

In June of 2018, citizens affected by the recent flood were engaged in a conversation to hear what steps were in motion to advance the community from the Response phase of the flood event to Recovery phase, as well as to understand the different roles in each phase, and to have their questions answered by a panel of representatives involved in the Recovery Plan. The first step was to do a hydrological impacts assessment of the entire river system in order to obtain much needed data about the river flow and how it had changed, the channels it had carved, the soil effects and the debris that had been deposited along its length. The study would allow the Recovery Team to make informed decisions on where to enhance flood protection that would not create an impact on downstream areas. A separate flood hazard assessment within the City of Grand Forks also recalculated the 200-year flood level and updated mapping of the floodplain. This information was essential to support construction of new flood control structures under the Critical Infrastructure plan to restore and rebuild dikes, pathways, roadways, and sanitary and storm sewer systems.

A defining feature of the Boundary Flood Recovery was an intentional decision to build local capacity for a community- led recovery effort. As a result, a five-pillar recovery management model was developed which included; Critical infrastructure, Wellness, Economy, Environment, and Housing. The model emphasized on strong and collaborative leadership, local capacity building, and use of a case management approach to identify actions. This was important to ensure the response effort was aware of and acting on a range of needs from populations that would not have sought out support on their own. Personal relationships and trust were established between those most impacted and the lead agencies. The City of Grand Forks, with support from the RDKB, reached out to the federal and provincial governments for money to help build the flood protection projects. The federal government suggested accessing funding by applying to their existing Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund. The provincial government did not have an existing program like that, so they instead asked the BC Treasury Board for spending authorization. Together they committed more than $50 Million to help the City for the construction of new dikes and stormwater systems and the naturalization of over 11 hectares of floodplain.

1. Distributed and Collaborative Leadership: The Grand Forks model was described as a “distributed” and “collaborative” leadership approach founded in trust. A lead agency was invited to coordinate the response for each pillar. The pillars worked together to “deal with issues adaptively as they emerged.” The Wellness recovery pillar provided leadership to coordinate the health and social response from the flood, including outreaching to most affected populations.
2. Local Capacity Building: It was a priority to first look for community leaders who had expertise and capacity to play a leadership role in the recovery management model. Only after community capacity had been explored were outside experts brought in. This model helped impacted populations, as it supported local agencies that are most knowledgeable about community need.
3. Case Management Approach: The model used a case management approach that provided individualized outreach and engagement to different populations in the community. This was important to ensure the response effort was aware of and acting on a range of needs from populations that would not have sought out support on their own. Personal relationships and trust were established between those most impacted and the lead agencies.

The model’s emphasis on strong and collaborative leadership, local capacity building, and use of a case management approach contributed to its success. The model revealed the importance of prioritizing leadership from and capacity building with local organizations in response and recovery, as they have the knowledge, experience, relationships and trust to support those populations in the community most impacted. It is also important to work towards a better understanding of vulnerabilities experienced by sub-populations in rural and remote areas. Moving forward there is a need for improved and timely mental health supports for populations most impacted. It is also important to clarify roles and expectations across levels of government to avoid unnecessary wait times and inefficiencies. This clarity is also significant for finding housing solutions which remains to be a huge challenge as the homeless were one of the most vulnerable population groups during the flood. Additional resources for local family and health organizations and upstream planning, including social planning in regard to gender diversity and gendered impacts, will improve climate change resilience. Questions such as; “what’s the community’s level of readiness and what supports might service providers need to prepare for flood season?” were brought up during implementation and answering these is an important step in future flood preparedness plans. Finally, the initiative revealed that there is value in sharing the experiences and lessons learned of the Grand Forks flood with other flood prone communities in B.C.

The city of Grand Forks is in the middle of the major flood mitigation program including flood protection works and managed retreat / floodplain naturalization. Not all of the documentation is complete and published so this case study is best seen as a snapshot in time. This information will be updated after a follow-up next year when the major works are complete or going into their final stages and more of the documentation is complete.

Link to Full Case Study

Additional Resources:

• City of Grand Forks: Flood Recovery 2018
• Social Impacts of the 2018 Grand Forks Flood: A Gender Based Plus Analysis of Climate Risk