Mitigation work continues three years after Calgary flood
Posted Jun 17, 2016 8:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
In the three years that have passed since a flood swamped much of downtown Calgary, the city and the province have been working on mitigation efforts to try and keep it from happening again.
Frank Frigo, leader of the River Engineer Team with the City of Calgary, says immediately after the floods, they surveyed the river and using mathematical models, tried to predict what would happen to water levels if we had another high level or medium level event.
“In most places through Calgary, the high flows of 2013 have channelized the river a little bit deeper and if anything the hydraulic capacity tends to be as high as or higher than it was prior to the event,” he explained.
Frigo says they categorized bank erosion sites into critical, high, and medium priority.
“I’m happy to tell you that with the exception of about six projects of the medium priority, the lowest of the three classifications, all of those projects have been completed,” he said, adding the work was done with the environment in mind, meaning they used bio-engineering as much as possible.
“Techniques where we use nature-like materials and structures and process to try and arrest erosion instead of the more traditional engineered-alone solutions, steel and concrete type of solutions.”
It’s not just engineering projects. Frigo says there are long-term studies underway evaluating what the Bow and Elbow Rivers will look like decades from now, so they can anticipate and prepare for changes and help prevent another flood event like 2013.
They’ve also put together a panel with experts from around the world, which has helped guide a number of projects.
“Those things span everything from changing climate to structural mitigation to non-structural mitigation to watershed health,” explained Frigo.
Some of the developments over the last three years include the city and the province working to install new gates on the crest of Glenmore Dam on the Elbow River as well as investments in the city’s drainage systems, to help them better cope with a flood situation.
There’s also work being done outside the city on the Bow River, looking at storage solutions upstream.
“This could offer other benefits in terms of water storage, supporting irrigation, supporting environmental flows, really assisting with overall watershed management but also making a giant step forward in terms of flood protection,” he said.
Frigo adds the city continues to beef up its emergency response plan based on all the data which is being collected.
