Nahanni Butte’s flood and erosion action plan wins planning award

The Alberta Professional Planners Institute has recognized Nahanni Butte’s flood and erosion action plan with an Award of Planning Merit in its Special Study category.

The award was given during the organization’s annual conference at the end of September. The group is the professional association for planners in Alberta, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut.

“Our people have lived with the realities of flooding and erosion for generations, and protecting our community remains a priority,” Nahanni Butte Dene Band Chief Steve Vital was quoted as saying in an October 13 GNWT news release announcing the award.

“This award belongs to everyone who contributed their time, knowledge, and commitment to a safer future for our community.”

Soham Srimani, Nahanni Butte Dene Band manager, said the community began working on the flood and erosion action plan in 2022 following “significant flooding events over the years” and “exceptionally high” water levels.

Nahanni Butte is located where the South Nahanni River and Liard River meet, meaning flooding is most often cause by heavy rainfall and snow melt. It can come from all sides, the action plan states, and Nahanni Butte’s shores are eroding about one metre each year.

The plan recommends six actions the community can take to mitigate the effects from flooding and erosion, and improve recovery after floods. These include:

• emergency planning;
• advocating for support from external agencies like the GNWT and federal government;
• land use and structure planning of the areas safe from flooding;
• identifying and prioritizing at-risk structures using a three-tiered system;
• considering flooding and erosion protection; and
• implementing best practices for local drainage.

“These initiatives represent a significant shift from reactive disaster response toward proactive, community-led risk reduction and long-term resilience planning,” said Srimani.

He said the objectives are “safeguarding residents, protecting community assets, and ensuring a safer and more sustainable future for Nahanni Butte.”

Sirmani said the community is discussing funding with both the territorial and federal governments to implement the actions, and has applied to the Building Canada Strong Fund.

He said the community has completed some drainage and culvert installation work, is in the process of updating its community plan, and its emergency plan is up to date.

Certain construction projects are now not approved if there are within a set distance of the shore.

In the longer term, the plan recommends three dyke options – each protecting an increasing area of the community. It suggests the community explore flood gates, barriers and armoured stone revetments along the shore.

Some solutions that were recommended but remain out of the community’s control include flood forecasting, an early warning system, and satellite analysis and detection.

The action plan did not recommend a planned retreat of the community away from the river, but said planning should begin to move critical services to another area within Nahanni Butte that is not predicted to flood.

In the GNWT news release, communities minister Vince McKay said Nahanni Butte’s flood and erosion action plan “has created a roadmap that will help protect the community for generations to come.”

McKay praised partnerships between various government levels, the contractor and community members. Residents had shared stories and information from past floods, and they also conducted monitoring of river levels and conditions starting in the summer of 2024.

The action plan and flood hazard mapping, both carried out by Dillon Consulting, were funded by $347,000 from the Climate Change Preparedness in the North Program over three years and $163,460 through the Flood Hazard Identification and Mapping Program.