Being at the confluence of three major waterways, the Fraser River, Quesnel River, and Baker Creek, Quesnel is known for its wealth of waterfront property. Although these waterways create a unique and appealing cityscape, they can also pose a hazard to persons or property during flood events – particularly during spring freshet.
To help mitigate the impacts of flooding for new developments, the City has updated our floodplain mapping and have adopted Flood Management Bylaw 1922. This Bylaw regulates development within flood prone areas through means of setting floodplain setbacks and flood construction levels, all of which are dependent on what the development is and where it is located. The Flood Management Bylaw can be viewed in its entirety below, including all map schedules:
Flood Management Bylaw No. 1922 of 2022
NOTE: Properties not identified in the above map schedules as being within floodplain may still be subject to floodplain regulations, as the mapping only identifies areas near the Fraser River, Quesnel River, and Baker Creek. The Flood Management Bylaw may still apply to properties near other waterbodies (Dragon Creek and Dragon Lake for example).
A Flood Hazard and Floodplain Mapping Report from 2020 by Urban Systems guided the creation of Flood Management Bylaw 1922.