With all the rain the last couple of days, our eyes turn to river monitoring. The City has issued a high stream flow advisory for the Elbow, so anyone near the water should be aware of the risks of higher than normal water level and flow. However NOTHING IS ALARMING and this is well within the City’s ability to fully manage. We did think a quick post was appropriate as it […]

On May 12, Rocky View County council voted 6-3 to withdraw its opposition to the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1). The official letter notifying the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) of this change states: I write to you on behalf of Rocky View County. Rocky View County hereby withdraws all of its objections in relation to the Spring Bank Off-Stream Reservoir project proceeding through the regulatory process. Should you have any […]

As part of Budget 2020, the Government of Alberta has committed $196.3 million over three years to continue to advance the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1). While we had been assured that SR1 remained fully funded to $432 million, no firm dollar amount had been provided by the province until now. Combined with the $168.5 million in federal funds announced last spring and the funds already spent to date, this commitment […]

Last week we shared some preliminary information on what the City is doing to prepare for flood season during COVID-19. Additional details have now been provided by the City and are shared verbatim below. What residents can do to prepare While we can’t prevent flooding entirely, the best way to ease the added stress amid the COVID-19 pandemic is by taking simple steps now to be flood ready. Understand. Check […]

The upgrades to the Glenmore Reservoir which began in 2017 are in place and operable. With the 21 new 2.5 meter high gates, the reservoir is able to store an additional 10 million cubic meters of water in the reservoir. The gates will provide greater control of the river water flow through our neighbourhoods during floods. The gates will allow the city to fully mitigate a 2005-sized flood, and slightly reduce […]

The City of Calgary Emergency Operations Centre will be hosting a media briefing today, Tuesday, May 5th at 1:00 p.m. to discuss emergency preparedness week and flood readiness. It is anticipated that Mayor Nenshi, Chief Tom Sampson, and Sandra Davis from the City’s River Engineering team will be speaking. Where to watch it The media briefing can be streamed live on Calgary.ca/live as well as on The City’s Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages. Regards, Your […]

To manage spring runoff, there will be a controlled increase in flow on the Elbow River for the next day or so. Water treatment operations are a significant driver around the need to increase flows to 50 cms on lower Elbow. Flows will appear elevated and are triggering a couple of pathway closures but should not be problematic. The official advisory from the City is below. Calgary issues boating advisory […]

This week Fort McMurray is experiencing exactly what has been weighing so heavily on our minds: a flood and evacuation during COVID-19. 15,000 people have been evacuated and emergency crews have performed more than 200 rescues in areas where people were ordered to leave. “This is, to my understanding, the worst flood that this region has experienced in 100 years… This is a one-in-100-year flood… Just unfortunately, it is this […]

The Tsuut’ina Nation have officially withdrawn all objections to the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1). This is HUGE news! The Tsuut’ina’s withdrawal of their Statement of Concern removes a significant regulatory barrier for Alberta Transportation and eliminates one of the larger opponents we’d expected to face at the public hearing. In the official notice dated April 1, 2020, the Tsuut’ina Nation declares: Tsuut’ina hereby withdraws all of its objections in relation […]

SR1 update: Federal review moves to Round 2, provincial hearing delayed, COVID-19 impacts We’ve been fairly quiet since our last Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir update in January, but plenty has been happening behind the scenes and there’s good news to report!  Federal regulatory review Finally! The Round 1 responses have been deemed complete and the Round 2 questions have been issued. AT’s submitted its final Round 1 responses in December 2019 and the Impact Assessment Agency […]