A Memorial University professor says the Newfoundland and Labrador government is taking a big risk by building a mental health and addictions facility in an area that has flooded repeatedly over the past few decades. 

The location of the new mental health hospital, near the Health Sciences Centre in St. John’s on a flood plain, has drawn criticism from many, including Joseph Daraio, a hydraulic engineer and MUN associate professor.

“It’s not a really good idea to put any building in a flood plain,” said Daraio in a recent interview. “Especially something that would include such a high risk to so many people in a flood plain.”

The provincial government’s own policy prohibits it from putting an institutional building on a flood plain but the government also says the same policy permits it to build hydraulic structures, such as berms, on one.

A map provided by the City of St. John’s shows the new hospital is well within an area that has flooded at least three times since the mid-1980s.

Provincial government defends decision

The provincial government’s policy for flood plain management seems clear; it says “institutional developments, such as hospitals” are “not permitted” to be constructed in a flood plain.

In a statement to CBC News, the Environment Department defended the decision, saying that the construction of a berm will mean the site will no longer be a flood plain.

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