Press Release
The deadline for responding to the International Joint Commission’s brief online flood damages survey has been extended until Monday, Dec. 22.
The deadline extension will allow seasonal residents, who spend their winters elsewhere, to have a greater opportunity to be aware of the survey and complete it.
As part of ongoing efforts to review and evaluate the performance of water level management strategies for Rainy and Namakan Lakes, the IJC has been funding a project, on behalf of the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board, to assess the risk of flood damages in the area, including the shoreline of Rainy, Namakan, Kabetogama, Sand Point, Little Vermillion, and Crane lakes.
The flood risk assessment has included a variety of components, including the completion of more than 130 face-to-face interviews with shoreline property owners in the fall of 2013 to discuss their perspectives on potential risk of flooding damages.
Given the flood conditions observed this past June and July within the study area, additional input from shoreline property owners is required to ensure the flood risk assessment adequately captures the types of flooding damages experienced, as well as the magnitude of those damages.
The survey is available on the International Rainy-Lake of the Woods Watershed Board website to help shoreline property owners on the Rainy and Namakan chain of lakes report on their damages during the past summer.
The survey also allows for damage reports from property owners on the Rainy River and Lake of the Woods shoreline, as the information will support future water level management activities in those areas.
Your participation in the process is completely voluntary, and you can choose to skip any questions on the survey.
However, your participation is critical to the success of the project.
Detailed information on the types and extent of observed flooding will help verify whether the flood risk assessment is properly representing property owner concerns.
Any information gathered through the surveys will be held in strict confidence and only will be used for consolidated reporting.
