In the aftermath of the events of Spring 2017, the Government of Quebec approached various players to initiate reflection on how best to manage flooding risks across the province in the context of a changing climate. This brainstorming activity culminated in a number of important realizations, including the need for comprehensive and up-to-date mapping of flood zones throughout Quebec that would foster adequate awareness of the risk inherent in land management decisions and the implementation of adaptation solutions. Following this exercise, the project INFO-Crue was launched.

Once completed, the methodology developed will make it possible to estimate uncertainties in extreme flow values for different return periods for all gauged sites in southern Québec. This knowledge of uncertainty will provide a better understanding of flood events and a better estimation of flood-risk areas.

This project has advanced our understanding of how heterogeneous ensemble simulations should be combined to maximize the information contained in climate projections.

Many climate change adaptation and mitigation measures involve changes in land use, including urban planning, agricultural practices, the planting of trees or crops for bioenergy or carbon capture, and the restoration of natural ecosystems.

The results of this project will provide decision-makers with a better understanding of the risks related to extreme flood events in both gauged and ungauged areas. Annual peak flow distributions for spring and summer-autumn flood periods will be used to drive the hydraulic models in the flood zone mapping process.

The project will support the development of predictive mapping adapted to user needs that will help to better equip institutions and organizations involved in flood management to ensure the safety and well-being of the population.

The production of a high-quality gridded meteorological dataset for Québec, and potentially the whole of North America, will open the door to several avenues of research, including measuring the impact of this grid on climate simulation bias correction, long-term hydrological forecasting, and modelling and calibration of hydrological models.

The developed model will allow for the estimation of flood levels corresponding to fixed levels of risk, which will be used by the DEH to draw up a new map of flood zones in southern Québec.