Flood warnings, state of emergency west of Calgary as residents urged to stay off rivers

Heavy rain has triggered new flood warnings and evacuation alerts west of Calgary while officials in the city caution residents to stay off of the Bow and Elbow rivers.

Alberta Rivers has escalated its flood watch to a flood warning for the Bragg Creek area and parts of Kananaskis, where a local state of emergency has also been issued.

Emergency crews are in Kananaskis helping evacuate campgrounds, monitoring damage and keeping roads closed where needed. People already in the area are being told to stay put, and visitors should delay travel until conditions improve.

Highway 40 is closed for any incoming traffic, but outgoing traffic is able to exit north of the Evan Thomas Bridge toward Highway 1. Anyone south of the bridge are being advised to shelter overnight.

William Watson Lodge and the Peter Lougheed Discovery Centre are open as temporary safe shelters. No injuries have been reported.

Information on closures in the are can be found here.

---

WATCH: High streamflow advisory for town of Canmore, mudslides in Kananaskis

---

Meteorologist Kevin Stanfield says water levels along the Elbow have risen from 0.8 metres to nearly three metres since the weekend.

“This is along the Elbow River near Bragg Creek,” says Stanfield. “Currently sections of the Bow River are also facing a high-streamflow advisory though at this time no impacts in Calgary are expected.”

Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir activated for first time

Uncertainty about how much more water will arrive has crews to activating run-off operations at the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir, while extra room has been created at the Glenmore Reservoir to capture runoff from the Elbow.

“The biggest development is that the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir was activated for the very first time early this morning,” said Calgary mayor Jeromy Farkas. “It’s capturing higher than expected runoff from the Upper Elbow watershed, exactly what it was built to do.”

The dam in Rocky View County was built to take in excess water that’s diverted when the Elbow River reaches dangerous levels. The water would then be released once its safe to do so.

“Springbank is a game-changing investment, one of the critical pieces of a flood-resilience plan for Calgary and for the region,” says Frank Frigo, the city’s Manager of Environment Management. “That has resulted in about 71 per cent of the risk profile we saw in 2013 being eliminated.”

A flood watch has ended for Canmore after evacuation alerts were issued for some neighbourhoods.

Calgarians warned to stay off Bow and Elbow Rivers

In Calgary, the Fire Department has issued a boating advisory saying no one should boat, float, or swim in the Bow or Elbow Rivers. The rain has pushed water levels well above safe levels, and dangerous conditions are expected to persist through Canada Day.

Farkas says there is no risk of overland flooding in Calgary, but low‑lying pathways are already closed, and more closures are expected. The city is urging residents to keep children and pets away from fast‑moving water and watch for submerged areas along river pathways.

A rainfall warning has been lifted for Calgary. Environment Canada said a total of 50 to 100 millimetres of rain was expected before conditions start to taper off late Monday.

Environment Canada’s Justin Patten says periods of rain will give way to thunderstorms and more scattered showers through the day, with improvements expected Tuesday morning.

With files from The Canadian Press