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In 2012, high water sent the northwestern New Brunswick village of Perth-Andoverinto a state of emergency. The village of close to 1,600 people issued a mandatory evacuation order to about 500 people living in low-lying areas. The flooding closed schools and the local hospital, forcing the transfer of many patients to other hospitals in the area and caused an estimated $25 million in damage.

At a meeting of the International Joint Commission (IJC) on Friday, May 17, Commissioners Pierre Béland, Merrell-Ann Phare and F. Henry Lickers made a solemn declaration to faithfully and impartially perform the duties assigned under the Boundary Waters Treaty.

Next year, the federal government will begin uploading nearly 2,000 user-friendly flood plain maps, updating them with the most recent geospatial data. Eventually, entire communities will find themselves publicly identified as at-risk. What that will do to the value of their homes and their flood insurance premiums (assuming they can even get insurance), is obvious.

The Water Institute congratulates six researchers at the University of Waterloo on recently receiving more than $3.8 million to collaborate with Canadian-based companies and government organizations on strategic research projects.

Water Institute member Blair Feltmate, professor in Waterloo's School of Environment, Enterprise and Development and the head of the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo, spoke with Vassy Kapelos on CBC’s Power & Politics about flood risk.

Instead of trying to control or prevent flooding, residents should adapt their homes to withstand it, says an architect who develops amphibious homes.