Saskatchewan – The Minister Responsible for the Saskatchewan Water Security Agency (WSA) Jeremy Cockrill is reminding municipalities of the annual transition of the Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program (EFDRP) to the Flood Damage Reduction Program (FDRP) for the remainder of the 2022-2023 fiscal year.
The transition moves from the emergency focus toward long-term flood mitigation projects. Applications from municipalities will be accepted until September 15, 2022.
“The Government of Saskatchewan is committed to safeguarding our communities by providing high-risk communities funding to protect infrastructure from future flooding,” Cockrill said. “These measures help address emergencies before they arise, saving communities money and additional stress during an emergency.”
Last year, the Village of Lebret received $31,950 in funding support from the FDRP to undertake the engineering required to initiate flood protection works for the municipality.
“We were fortunate to qualify for this much-needed funding in 2021 to commission a new flood hazard map for our area,” Mayor of the Village of Lebret, Lloyd Virag said. “The cost-share reimbursement makes protecting our community so much easier and gives our citizens peace of mind for future resilience.”
WSA is investing up to $500,000 in EFDRP and FDRP for 2022-23. The agency will accept FDRP proposals in four streams from communities both urban (cities, towns and villages) and in rural municipalities (hamlets) as follows:
- Hydrologic and/or hydraulic investigations to develop risk assessments;
- Flood mapping projects;
- Mitigation planning, where municipalities develop emergency flood response plans or potential flood damage prevention construction designs; and
- Structural projects, where the municipality acts as the proponent for construction of permanent flood protection works.
The FDRP will cover eligible costs incurred up to March 31, 2023. A list of eligible costs can be found online here.
Once a municipality applies to the program, the proponent must have prior WSA approval and must secure any applicable regulatory requirements to undertake work. Eligible projects will be cost-shared on a 50/50 basis between WSA and the proponent.
For more information on the program, please contact the nearest WSA office or visit wsask.ca/water-programs/flood-damage-prevention/.
