The Government of Alberta has announced $15 million in funding for two critical Bow River flood mitigation projects; the Downtown Barrier and the Upper Plateau Separation Project in Sunnyside-Hillhurst.
The funds are provided through the Alberta Community Resilience Program (ACRP) and are in addition to the grants previously announced for these projects in May 2018. You can read the full list of ACRP grants provided to date here.
Downtown Flood Barrier
In late 2018, West Eau Claire Park, the Eau Claire Promenade, and the Centre Street Bridge Barrier were all completed. The Downtown Barrier will be an extension of this infrastructure eastward to the Reconciliation Bridge. These are all elements of the Eau Claire Public Realm Plan.
Once the Downtown Barrier is complete, the entire system will provide 1:200 year flood protection. The project is currently in the design phase with anticipated completion in 2021.
Image: City of Calgary
Upper Plateau Separation Project
The project will separate the Upper Plateau stormwater system from the community of Sunnyside-Hillhurst in order to mitigate flooding and backflow into the community during high water events.
The project, covering a 527 ha area in central northwest Calgary, is currently in the design phase, however, preliminary work consisting of geotechnical drilling (to determine soil stability and to pinpoint the appropriate sites for construction) began in late 2018.
Brown = Upper Plateau, Orange = Lower Plateau (Image: City of Calgary)
A list of ongoing and completed local flood mitigation and resilience projects is available on the City of Calgary’s website here.
Media coverage:
- Government of Alberta – Official news release
- 660 News – Province commits more money for flood resilience projects (includes insight into annual ACRP funding cap)
- Calgary Herald – Province announces new flood protection, hints at more to come
- CBC News – Alberta commits $15M toward Calgary flood mitigation projects, but construction won’t start yet
- CTV News – Government announces more funding to protect against flooding (video comment from Flood Free Calgary’s Paul Battistella at 1:30)
- Journal of Commerce – Alberta greenlights Calgary flood resiliency projects
If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at info@crcactiongroup.com.
Regards,
Your CRCAG Board