Expected submission date for Springbank Project EIA revisions pushed to end of March   In early December, we advised that the revisions requested by the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report (originally submitted by Alberta Transportation in October 2017), were anticipated to be completed by end of January. The EIA would then be resubmitted to the CEAA to continue the regulatory review process and restart the clock […]

Provincial Transportation Minister reaffirms commitment to Springbank, calls on business community for support   On Thursday, the Calgary Chamber of Commerce hosted a luncheon with Alberta’s Transportation Minister, Brian Mason, discussing Alberta’s transportation future and the need for flood protection.    In his speech, Minister Mason emphasized support for the Springbank project, from all three levels of government, and called on members of the business community for their support of the project. […]

Call to action: Complete online survey on provincial budget   Finance Minister Joe Ceci is holding a telephone town hall tonight, and Albertans are invited to provide feedback to help shape and inform the provincial budget. This is an excellent opportunity to get vocal about prioritizing budget money to support flood mitigation projects.   Your responses are important to keep the budget for flood mitigation projects intact and properly funded!   There are three ways […]

Critical document: Flood Mitigation Options Assessment Report   Executive summary now available publicly   In May 2017, the City of Calgary released the Flood Mitigation Options Assessment Report, prepared by the IBI Group and Golder Associates.   The report is a further and more refined study to the initial study work conducted by IBI in 2015 (available here). The research used sophisticated modelling data to provide a cost-benefit analysis to […]

On Tuesday evening, the City hosted a Community Information Session in Bowness so that residents could learn about flood mitigation plans slated for the community, namely a local berm planned for Bow Crescent. We were in attendance and it was a packed house.   Information about the proposed berm was distributed via a six-page handout in resident mailboxes in December, however, we wanted to update you on information gathered at the info session on […]

Happy New Year to all our members! We hope you had a joyous holiday season and that you were able to stay warm through the cold snap.   Kicking off the new year, we want to bring you the latest news from the Bow River Working Group (BRWG) and to notify you of an upcoming community engagement event.   Update from Bow River Working Group   Late last year, we met […]

2017 Progress Toward Flood Protection   It is hard to believe we are onto our 5th Christmas post-flood.  And here we still are just as vulnerable to a flood disaster as we were in 2013.  However, that’s not to say progress has not been made, in particular:   The Springbank project is well into the environmental review process, has strong support from all three levels of government and, in combination with […]

As the recent floods from Bangladesh to Texas show, it’s not just the unprecedented magnitude of storms that can cause disaster: it’s urbanisation.   As a result, urban areas around the world are employing creative technologies to protect themselves from flooding and severe weather events.   Permeable pavement in Chicago, “sponge cities” in China, and elevated neighbourhoods in New Jersey are just a few of the examples highlighted in these […]

Recently, the Springbank Project was discussed in the Medicine Hat Times, a clear reminder that the project is not just a Calgary imperative, but is critical for many communities.   Read the full article here: Time to get started on the long view of flood protection   Regards,   Your CRCAG Board

On November 24, CRCAG Co-President, Brenda Leeds Binder, spoke on Danielle Smith’s show in response to the news that some Springbank landowners had entered into a joint venture with Bordeaux Developments to build a master-plan community where the Springbank off-stream reservoir is intended to be built.   Listen to the full episode here (11 minutes): https://omny.fm/shows/danielle-smith/springbank   As always, stay tuned to our Facebook and Twitter accounts where we share […]