Flood fears mounting
Residents worry as spring melt nears
As residents of flood-damaged communities continue to deal with fallout from last June’s disaster, the fast-approaching spring melt has many feeling nervous.
It is too early to know if this will be another high-risk year in southern Alberta — and the uncertainty has flood victims fearful of another deluge.
“It’s incredibly stressful. We’ve been through a lot and the fear of living through it again is scary,” said Emma May, president of the Calgary River Communities Action Group.
The city plans to hold two information sessions to discuss snow melt and weather patterns, as well as measures Calgarians can take to protect their property during flood season.
Officials will also outline specific protection measures put in place following the June disaster. More than 100 locations require repair work to bridges, roads, parks, riverbanks and stormwater outfalls.
“We started on the most critical locations and we’re working to make sure they are protected for high water in the spring,” said the city’s recovery director Gordon Stewart. “When the work is done, it will be to a higher standard than existed before.”
The work is ongoing but the major flood mitigation infrastructure will not happen overnight, he cautioned.
“Some areas will be better. But the things that need to be done to put Calgary in a much better position will happen over the next number of years.”
The province’s advisory panel on flood mitigation has recommended a series of projects to prevent a recurrence of last June’s flooding, which damaged more than 14,000 homes in Alberta.
The list includes a massive diversion tunnel underneath Calgary that would run from the western end of the Glenmore Reservoir, bypassing the Elbow River Valley, to deposit flood waters into the Bow River.
Many are anxious to see some movement on the project, said May. “We need commitment and (to) build timelines and schedules. When people can predict when the dirt is going to move, I think they will feel a bit better. Right now there are still a lot of unknowns.”
With the beginning of spring only a month away, the province is busy collecting snowpack data in the mountains. The information offers a monthly snapshot and is one of a handful of criteria used to predict the potential for flooding.
“Typically there is a lot of winter left this time of year. A lot can change,” said Carrie Sancartier, a spokeswoman with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. “Ideally what we’d like to see is a slow melt.”
According to David Sauchyn, a researcher with the Prairie Adaption Research Collaborative, there are many wet years ahead for Alberta and scientific evidence suggests that floods tend to be grouped together over time.
But as Albertans cast a wary eye on the approaching flood season — one year after the worst disaster in the province’s history — Infrastructure Minister Ric McIver said he’s satisfied that communities are as adequately prepared as they can be given the circumstances.
“I am satisfied that we have done everything we can do. But the reality is a lot of the work that we want to get done won’t be done this year and so we’ll have to see what Mother Nature brings us,” McIver said.
“If we have another extremely un- usual rainfall isolated in one spot like we did last year then it probably won’t be good for whoever the rain falls on.”
The first flood information session will be held Monday at the Hillhurst Sunnyside Community Hall starting at 5:30 p.m. The second is scheduled for Wednesday at Bowness Community Hall beginning at 5 p.m.