Water Management, Planning and Standards

  • Administer designated flood areas - set flood protection levels and issue two-stage permits for new buildings. The permitting process ensures new buildings will have flood protection to the design flood, within the Red River Valley and Lower Red River Valley designated flood areas.
  • Provide flood protection levels and shoreline/riverbank stability information for land developments, including:
    • New subdivisions
    • Crown Land sales, leases and permits
    • Planning District development plans
    • Zoning by-law proposals
    • Environment Act proposals
  • For provincial waterway drains, dams, reservoirs and dikes: issue permits and authorizations for the use of these provincial infrastructures. Declare new infrastructures as provincial waterways. Abandon un-needed infrastructures.
  • Chair the multi-party Shoreline Erosion Technical Committee and provide geotechnical and engineering advice to local governments for proposed lake shoreline and riverbank stabilization projects that are forwarded to the committee.
  • Provide general geotechnical advice to local governments, and to citizens, regarding shoreline and riverbank stability problems and options for addressing those problems.
  • Conduct ice-jam mitigation program - jointly carry out technical and financial management of the province's Amphibex ice breakers and ice cutters.
  • Carry out and manage surface water management conceptual, feasibility and planning studies regarding flooding problems, flood protection options, and various water management problems.
  • Assist with flood fighting activities and with communicating flood information to the public and local governments.
  • Shellmouth Dam Compensation Programs - conduct technical and GIS (Geospatial Information System) activities supporting compensation programs.
  • Assume divisional GIS leadership - activities include mapping, maintaining geospatial data and map inventories, and providing the division with GIS technologies support.
  • LiDAR topographic data acquisition projects - administer and manage all technical and quality control aspects.
  • Flood risk mapping - undertake engineering mapping studies, administer studies conducted by external consultants, and produce the web-based and physical maps for wide distribution.
  • Conduct studies assessing the functioning of provincial water control works and identifying improvement options.
  • Individual Flood Protection Initiatives programs - carry out all administration, financial control and technical management of the programs.