WC130 MayJune2023 - Magazine - Page 37
Flood risk remaining
Flood risk in Calgary
(Calgary’s Flood Resilience Plan)
30%
15%
Risk reduced once
Springbank Reservoir
is built
55%
Risk reduced since 2013 flood
by flood mitigation measures
nesses, and critical infrastructure in flood-prone areas, while
also causing disruptions to people and businesses outside of
flooded areas. In the long-term, flood events can cause financial
burden, phycological trauma, community disruptions and displacements, as infrastructure is repaired and rebuilt services are
restored.
This June will mark 10 years since the devastating 2013
flood in Calgary. As a river city, there will always be a need
to prepare, respond and adapt to floods, with the pressures of
a changing climate bringing uncertainty. The City’s comprehensive flood resilience program has driven a decade of flood
mitigation work, which positions Calgary to be better protected today and, in the future, if a similar-sized flood was to
happen again.
Calgary’s flood resilience plan uses a three-layered approach
that focuses on upstream, community level, and property level
flood protection measures. All three levels work together to
reduce Calgary’s flood risk and increase the city’s resilience.
Each measure influences and supports each other to prevent
flooding, minimize damage, and decrease the recovery time for
people, homes, communities, and the city.
Ten years on, local flood mitigation projects such as critical
infrastructure protection, flood barriers, increased reservoir
storage, refined response plans, and community readiness and
outreach programs, have reduced Calgary’s river flood risk
by 55 per cent. Upstream reservoirs on the Bow and Elbow
Rivers remain an important piece of The City’s long-term flood
resilience strategy. Reservoirs can provide additional and complementary benefits by storing flood water and then releasing
it slowly over time after the initial event has passed. In some
cases, this outcome can support additional water supply storage
and provide drought mitigation benefits.
Once the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir and Sunnyside
flood barriers are fully operational, Calgary’s flood risk will be
reduced further, decreasing by 70 per cent in comparison with
2013 figures. The Springbank Off-stream Reservoir, currently under construction, is located 18 kilometres upstream of
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Calgary. It will divert and store water during a high flow event
and slowly release it back into the Elbow River after flows
subside. Working together with new storage gates installed at
the Glenmore Reservoir in 2020, a 2013-level flood event can
be mitigated on the Elbow River once the Springbank reservoir
is fully operational (2025).
The 2013 flood significantly impacted Calgary and its
communities are better prepared today for future flood events
because of the mitigation measures implemented over the past
10 years. The path to resilience is a complex process, which
includes short, medium, and long-term milestones. Over
the past decade, the Flood Resilience Program has been an
indispensable part of city building. The implementation of the
program has included a multi-disciplinary team of experts who
lead flood mitigation work within city limits, as well as support
flood mitigation efforts outside Calgary, which continue to
shape protection for the greater region. Looking ahead, The
City’s Flood Resilience Program continues to evolve as an
integral part of Calgary’s climate adaptation, environmental
planning and overall city building plans and processes.
Visit us at the World’s
Premier Water Conference!
#ACE23
June 11-14, Toronto, ON
Ask us about in-person,
online and virtual training
courses, our pilot testing
projects and our online
Drinking Water Resource
Library!
Visit wcwc.ca
WATER C AN ADA • M AY/JUNE 2023
37
