Government of Alberta announces funds for flood mitigation, will study three upstream options for the Bow River

Earlier this month, the Government of Alberta announced funding for flood mitigation projects throughout the province, including $13.5 million for Calgary projects.

The funds are part of the Alberta Community Resilience Program (ACRP), “a multi-year grant program supporting the development of long-term resilience to flood and drought events, while supporting integrated planning and healthy functioning watersheds.”

Calgary projects that will benefit from the provincial funds include $4.15 million to extend the Downtown Flood Barrier near Eau Claire, $4.15 million for the Upper Plateau Separation Project in Sunnyside-Hillhurst, and $5.2 million to improve the 9th Avenue Bridge in Inglewood.

A total of $30 million was pledged for projects throughout Alberta, you can see the full list here.

The government also announced it will study three upstream storage options for the Bow River that were identified in the Bow River Water Management Project report in May 2017.

• New Glenbow reservoir
  New dam and reservoir on the Bow River (part way between Bow River below Bearspaw Dam and Bow River near Cochrane Water Survey Canada gauges).
• New Morley reservoir
  New dam and reservoir in a wide floodplain area upstream of Ghost Reservoir.
• Expand Ghost River reservoir
  Would involve an agreement between GoA and TransAlta to operate existing facilities to optimize flood mitigation, effectively increasing the drawdown rate before the flood season.

At this time, we do not know how long this study is expected to take. We will continue to keep you updated on developments for both Bow River and Elbow River as we receive new information.

Here are a few additional resources relating to this announcement:

• Read the Government of Alberta’s May 1, 2018 media release: Building strong, flood-resilient communities
• Listen to the full May 1, 2018 news conference: Alberta invests in Calgary’s flood resiliency (44 minutes)
• Flood Resilience Grants Fact Sheet detailing all Alberta Community Resilience Program Approved Grants
• Building a more flood-resilient Calgary summary, including maps of flood mitigation projects in Calgary

Thanks for your support, Flood Free Calgary