Vaudreuil mayor, councillor push back against new flood zone maps

Vaudreuil officials reject flood map The mayor and a councillor argue Quebec’s new flood maps unfairly label areas at risk.

For 58 years, Paul Dumoulin has lived at the same home in Vaudreuil-Dorion. Over the decades, he has spent a lot of time and money maintaining his property.

"It's my investment for sure," Dumoulin, who is a Vaudreuil councillor, said.

In 2017 and 2019, when the Montreal-area suburb was hard hit by spring floods, Dumoulin's street was dry.

In Quebec's latest flood maps, his street is considered a moderate flood risk.

"They put a number on a computer, and this is the flood area, but it's not the way it's supposed to be," Dumoulin said.

He said in 2019, Vaudreuil installed more than two kilometres of temporary dikes to prevent homes from flooding.

"We save a lot of people, we save some school, we save some CHSLD from the water coming in," he said.

The mayor of Vaudreuil-Dorion has harsh words for this new flood map.

"I find it absolutely stupid because they did the same thing in 2019," Mayor Guy Pilon said.

He said about 2,000 homes would find themselves in a flood zone. The map has different colours based on flood risk. Those living in high-risk areas would no longer be able to rebuild if their house is ever flooded.

"You cannot rebuild, [what's your land worth then?] No one would buy a land where you cannot build," Pilon said.

The mayor wants to do more to protect his community such as building another dike, but the province has turned him down.

"You're telling us you're going to pay every year, every two years, three years for flooding, but you don't want to invest in a little dike?"

Vaudreuil expects to have a public information session for citizens, but the date is not yet known.