Flooding

One of our most important strategic priorities is protecting life and minimizing property damage from flooding and erosion.

The Grand River system has a long history of flooding. Floods can occur in all seasons: during the spring melt, following major rainstorms in summer and fall, and during a rapid melt or because of an ice jam in the winter. You can see historical flooding photos on our Flickr page.

We manage flood risk by:

• monitoring weather conditions and river flows to know when flooding is possible;
• issuing flood messages to alert municipal flood coordinators and the public about coming high water;
• operating seven dams and reservoirs to hold water and reduce flood peaks;
• owning and maintaining dikes to protect low-lying areas in Kitchener (Bridgeport), Cambridge (Galt) and Brantford; and
• controlling development in flood-prone areas to reduce potential property damage.

Flood warning system

Learn more about our flood messages and how you can receive them directly on our Flood warning system page.

Preparing for floods

Learn how what you can do to deal with floods on our Preparing for floods page.

More information

View our Flood resources page to read brochures and visit other websites to learn more about flooding.