It was suggested in the weather thread that perhaps we have a catch all thread to discuss flood related issues in Calgary and area.
With all the snow we are getting this year and the forecast of a cooler, wet spring thoughts again turn to 2013 and the flood and the potential for flooding on that scale to happen again.
So here we go, discuss, debate, post useful links to proposed mitigation projects.
Is there much that can be done in a "preventative" scope?
I understand that long term planning, such as mitigating building in the flood zones/paths, as well as using dams/controls effectively can play a part in mitigating damages.
A thought on the furnace and water heater....could you put a big piece of thick poly underneath, kinda around them, and as the water rises up, it would just wrap around them and they would stay dry? I guess it would depend on water pressure crushing them, depends how high it goes.
How about on a macro scale though? What can the province or city do (or do differently) in a situation where flooding seems to be a possibility/probability?
I doubt we will get 130 mm of rain in 24 hours again to cause the flooding.
This post really hits the nail on the head for our flood potential. We need three things to happen for us to get flooded.
Deep snowpack
Wet/cool spring (leaving snowpack into late may/June)
A monster system that approaches from the east and perches/stalls on the front ranges.
So far we have a deep snowpack.
Our greatest flood potential happens from late may to late June.
IMO (take it for what it is worth) it is a bit early to be worried about flooding this spring. A few more things need to line up before we get clobbered again.
I work for a rental company, that specializes in diesel and submersible pumps. It's literally all I do, if any questions or anyone needs any pumps let me know!
Is anyone interested in figuring out what the best routes would be if we ran into a flooding situation again? I remember getting stuck on Sarcee Northbound for 2-3 hours because most of the Northbound river cross overs (Memorial, Centre, 10th, 14th, Crowchild, Bowness and 85th) were not accessible.
I remember some friends saying it was faster for them to exit Calgary, then circle back than it was for me to get through the Stony Trail bottle neck.
The city couldn't stress enough that so much of these plans (especially the reservoirs) were dependent on the Provincial government to make a reality. I really did like the idea of a new wet reservoir upstream on the Bow. In addition to flood mitigation I was thinking the retention a a precious resource like water via this new reservoir would be in the best interests of our area.
I did not like the idea of barriers, as from some reading it appears as though making our riverbanks more like their natural state can be a more effective means of flood prevention and mitigation. Barriers while they may work will cut off our river from us, and also speed up the water so the consequences of that could be to the detriment of folks downstream of them.