To protect public safety and property and to reduce the requirement for flood control works and flood damage restoration in floodplains.
Floodplains are nature's storage area for flood waters.
New development in a floodplain can increase flood levels and flows thereby increasing the threat to existing upstream and downstream development. Five floodplains have been identified as Flood Risk Areas under the Canada-Nova Scotia Flood Damage Reduction Program. This statement applies to all Flood Risk Areas that are designated under the Canada-Nova Scotia Flood Damage Reduction Program. Hence, they have a high potential for flood damage. An important condition in the federal-provincial FDRP agreement was that any new development in a designated flood risk area was not eligible for government flood damage assistance.