Government of Alberta announces funding for flood mitigation projects, plans to study Bow upstream storage options

Last week, the Government of Alberta announced $30 million in flood funding for Alberta, with $13.5 million going to flood measures in the City of Calgary.

Included in the announcement were three components, all three of which are significant, positive developments for Calgary. We’ve explained all three below.

Alberta Community Resilience Program

In an effort to adapt to extreme weather events, the government has established a multi-year grant program, the Alberta Community Resilience Program (ACRP), that will help fund crucial flood mitigation projects in our city.

“The ACRP will promote a more resilient Alberta by investing in the design and implementation of projects that minimize risks and impacts to municipal infrastructure from flooding and drought events, and help ensure public safety.” – Alberta Environment and Parks

As part of the ACRP grant program, the $13.5 million will be used to fund the following high-priority projects:

• Downtown Flood Barrier
  $4.15 million to extend the downtown flood barrier on the south bank of the Bow River, from the West Eau Claire to the Reconciliation Bridge.
  
• Upper Plateau Separation Project
  $4.15 million to 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).
  
• 9th Avenue (Inglewood) Bridge
  $5.2 million to improve the flood resiliency of the replacement bridge deck to the 100-year design level plus freeboard.
• Study to assess the feasibility of increasing the drawdown rate at TransAlta’s Ghost Reservoir to provide the province with increased flexibility during the modified operations period. 

Read: Full list of Alberta projects to be funded by $30 million ACRP grants

Bow River upstream storage

Further to the Bow River Water Management Project report published May 17, 2017, the government will assess three potential upstream storage options.

“The assessments will include a high level hydrology study, conceptual design of all three options, tabletop geotechnical investigation, high level environmental scan, and a stakeholder overview.” -Government of Alberta

Emergency preparedness

Finally, beyond the ACRP funds, the government announced an additional $10 million investment in emergency preparedness that will:

• Add equipment, such as sandbags, tiger dam kits, sandbag fillers and pumps to the provincial stockpile, located in the MD of Foothills.
• Reimburse municipalities, including Calgary, for additional mitigation and preparation costs to help them be better prepared.
• Establish a reserve for future emergencies and to strengthen standby response capacity.

CRCAG’s role

On April 12, we wrote to the Honourable Minister Shannon Philips, Minister of Environment and Parks and the Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office, MLA for Lethbridge-West. Read the full letter here. 

“First, we ask that feasibility studies for potential major infrastructure projects identified in the report be initiated immediately.

 

Secondly, our group would like to meet with you to further elaborate our concerns for expediting government action for flood mitigation for the Bow and Elbow rivers that flow through Calgary.  

 

Finally, we understand and would like to confirm that the feasibility studies on increasing the drawdown rate at Ghost Reservoir and other smaller projects identified by the BRWG are in progress.”

We are very pleased to see action on these items. We will continue to communicate our message to all three levels of government in the hopes of moving these crucial flood mitigation efforts forward.

You can read the government’s official media release here and listen to the full news conference here.

Media coverage:

• 660 News – Province announces funding for mitigation projects as flood anniversary approaches
• Calgary Herald – Alberta pours $13.5 million into three flood mitigation projects along Bow River
• CBC – Calgary gets $13.5M for flood mitigation projects from province
• CTV News – Province announces funding for flood recovery in Calgary (video)
• Global News – Alberta government announces funding to improve flood resiliency in Calgary (video)
• Toronto Star – Alberta government pledges $13.5 million for Calgary flood protection

If you have any questions or concerns, please reach out to us at info@crcactiongroup.com.

Regards,

Your CRCAG Board