Understanding Flood Hazards - Little Qualicum River

The Little Qualicum River is part of the Georgia Basin drainage network located on central Vancouver Island. The Little Qualicum River watershed ranges from Mt. Arrowsmith to sea level, draining through Cameron Lake into the Strait of Georgia just north of Qualicum Beach. The Little Qualicum River is primarily a rain-driven hydrologic system, influenced by heavy fall and winter rain or snow. The majority of the flow occurs in the fall and winter with low discharge in the summer period. Flooding is not uncommon along the Little Qualicum River.

The current floodplain map for the Little Qualicum River were prepared by the Province of BC in September 1997. These maps are considered outdated because the hydrologic model used to create the map does not consider regional climate change and sea level rise on the floodplain of the Little Qualicum River and estuary area.

As part of modernizing the RDN's approach to flood management, the existing riverine floodplain maps are being updated for the Little Qualicum River. This work commenced in April 2021 and is anticipated to be completed in March 2022.