Alberta Flood Mitigation Frequently Asked Questions

Last Updated: November 5th 2015

The following are frequently asked questions regarding the status of Flood Mitigation in Alberta. Questions and answers have been provided by the Resilience and Mitigation Branch of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development. 

 

1) What is the status of the Springbank Off-Stream project?

2) How is the Ghost Reservoir being used for flood mitigation on the Bow River?

3) Where can I find copies of the flood mitigation engineering reports?

4) What is the status of the Highwood diversion project on the Highwood River?

5) What is the status of the McLean Creek (MC1) and Calgary Diversion Reservoir (Calgary Tunnel)?

6) What is the status of the projects that were recommended by the Community Flood Advisory Panel?

7) How do I contact the Resilience and Mitigation Branch for further information?

 

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1) What is the status of the Springbank Off-Stream project?

Government will continue with design and engineering work on the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir to bring this project toward full regulatory approval. This process includes respectful discussions with landowners regarding compensation.

 

2) How is the Ghost Reservoir being used for flood mitigation on the Bow River?

The government’s agreement with TransAlta on modified operations at Ghost Reservoir for flood mitigation purposes expired on July 7, 2015. Approximately 65 million cubic metres of flood water storage was available during the high run-off season to use at the province’s discretion. Throughout the period of modified operations, we regularly reassessed the risk of both flood and drought when making decisions regarding the water level at Ghost Reservoir. We will evaluate the 2015 agreement, taking into consideration flood mitigation benefits, impacts to Stoney Nakota First Nation, Ghost Village residents, recreational users, and downstream irrigation requirements, before deciding whether to pursue a long-term arrangement.

 

3) Where can I find copies of the flood mitigation engineering reports?

Copies of the engineering reports can be found at: http://www.gov.ab.ca/flood-mitigation-studies.cfm 

 

4) What is the status of the Highwood diversion project on the Highwood River?

The Alberta government will work with the Town of High River to ensure this community is well protected from future flooding. A decision on next steps for the Highwood River will be coming soon.

 

5) What is the status of the McLean Creek (MC1) and Calgary Reservoir Diversion (Calgary Tunnel)?

No further work will be done on either project. Government has completed a full study of all the options and we are moving forward with a flood mitigation plan that combines the Springbank Off-stream Reservoir with local mitigation strategies in high risk areas. This includes upstream local flood mitigation projects in Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows. The Province is also investing $150 million over ten years to build flood protection works within the City of Calgary through the Alberta Community Resilience Program, allowing the city to develop a multi-year flood protection plan.

 

6) What is the status of the projects that were recommended by the Community Flood Advisory Panel? 

Consulting engineers hired by the Government of Alberta reviewed all potential dry dam projects originally proposed by the panel in the fall of 2013. Each potential dry dam was found to be either geologically unsuitable, comparatively ineffective, or would have too high environmental impact. 

 

7) How do I contact the Resilience and Mitigation Branch for further information?

The Resilience and Mitigation Branch can be contacted at: MitigationSecretariat@gov.ab.ca