Nahanni Butte flood plan wins national planning award

The Nahanni Butte Dene Band’s flood and erosion action plan has won an Award of Planning Merit from the Alberta Professional Planners Institute, the Government of the Northwest Territories said.

The institute presented the award in the Special Study category at its annual conference in Calgary on Sept. 30, 2026. It is the professional association for planners in Alberta, the N.W.T. and Nunavut.

The territorial government said the award recognizes the band, community members and Dillon Consulting Limited for a plan that addresses flooding and riverbank erosion while strengthening the community’s resilience to climate change.

Nahanni Butte sits where the South Nahanni and Liard rivers meet. Flooding most often follows heavy rain and snowmelt and can come from several directions, Cabin Radio reported, citing the plan. The community’s shoreline erodes by about one metre a year.

“Our people have lived with the realities of flooding and erosion for generations, and protecting our community remains a priority,” Nahanni Butte Dene Band Chief Steve Vital said, according to Cabin Radio. “This award belongs to everyone who contributed their time, knowledge, and commitment to a safer future for our community.”

Band manager Soham Srimani told Cabin Radio the community began the work in 2022 after significant floods and exceptionally high water levels. Residents shared stories of past floods, identified high-water marks and monitored river levels starting in the summer of 2024, the territorial government said.

The plan recommends six actions, including seeking support from the territorial and federal governments, planning land use in areas safe from flooding, and ranking at-risk buildings under a three-tiered system. Over the longer term it sets out three dyke options, each protecting a larger part of the community, and suggests exploring flood gates, barriers and armoured stone along the shore.

It does not recommend moving the community away from the river. It says planning should begin to relocate critical services to a part of Nahanni Butte not expected to flood, Cabin Radio reported.

Flood forecasting, an early warning system and satellite monitoring were also recommended but are outside the community’s control, according to the report.

Srimani said the community is discussing funding with both governments and has applied to the Building Canada Strong Fund. It has already done some drainage and culvert work, is updating its community plan, and no longer approves some construction within a set distance of the shore.

Communities Minister Vince McKay said the plan “has created a roadmap that will help protect the community for generations to come.”

Flood protection is a growing concern for First Nations elsewhere. Work recently started on $61.1-million flood dikes for Peguis and Fisher River, and the federal government pledged $2.5 billion for First Nations emergencies. Our other northern coverage includes the nomination of the Mackenzie River as a Canadian Heritage River.

Sources: Government of the Northwest Territories; Cabin Radio.

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