Minister responsible for the Water Security Agency Scott Moe announced $950,000 to create permanent flood protection works for the Northern Village of Cumberland House and the Cumberland House Cree Nation.
“Cumberland House is one of our strong northern communities and is home to a very unique landscape,” Moe said. “This community is essentially surrounded by water and our government felt a permanent solution to ensure a higher level of flood protection is an important investment to protect this community.”
In 2013, the Water Security Agency provided temporary flood protection dikes through the Emergency Flood Damage Reduction Program (EFDRP) to the Northern Village of Cumberland House and the Cumberland House Cree Nation. The program is structured so that temporary works usually turn into permanent ones when the case is warranted.
The temporary dikes in Cumberland House will be made permanent by adding material to the road beds of Highway 123 and Lambert Drive. The roads then would become permanent dikes and would give these communities up to one in 100 year flood protection. In 2011, the evacuation costs due to flooding for these communities was approximately $1.5 million.
An independent study done in 2011 showed that every dollar invested through the EFDRP saved the province $20 in flood-related damages.
Since 2011, the Government of Saskatchewan has invested nearly $80 million into EFDRP. This investment has gone into temporary and permanent works along with engineering and technical support for flood prevention.
The Water Security Agency was created to lead the implementation of the 25 Year Saskatchewan Water Security Plan. The plan will improve water management capacity and service to individuals, businesses and communities across Saskatchewan. The agency brings together all of the major responsibilities related to water quality and quantity.
