2022 Flood Preparedness
High river flow season is around the corner. Now’s the time to be prepared.
As we head into this year’s high river flow season, The City’s flood preparations are complete and we’re ready. High river flow season typically happens from around May 15 - July 15.
In the last nine years, we’ve come a long way in building a more flood resilient city, reducing our city’s risk by more than half. This spring, the downtown flood barrier is in place creating a continuous flood barrier from the Peace Bridge to Reconciliation Bridge and helping protect the safety of Calgarians and critical infrastructure in Downtown, Chinatown, East Village and Eau Claire communities.
Construction has also begun on the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1), that together with the higher gates at the Glenmore Dam, will protect thousands of residents that live and work along the Elbow River and downtown Calgary from a 2013-size flood. It will reduce damages by over $3 billion through the next century, safeguard Calgary’s downtown core, an economic engine for the region, protect critical public infrastructure like roads and C-Train lines and vital services like our drinking water and wastewater treatment plants that we all depend on.
Despite all these efforts, we can’t prevent flooding entirely. If you live or work in an area that’s at risk of river flooding, it’s important to take simple steps so that you’re ready too.
1. Understand your risk. Check our online, interactive flood maps to find out if your home and community is at risk of river flooding.
2. Be prepared. Take steps to reduce flood damage, keep your loved ones safe and be prepared if you need to evacuate quickly.
3. Stay informed. Heavy rainfalls in the mountain areas, which are the major cause of flooding, are hard to predict, meaning you could have less than 24 hours warning. Visit calgary.ca/floodinfo for a quick snapshot of daily river conditions and sign up for alerts to stay informed.
Visit calgary.ca/floodinfo to subscribe to our e-newsletter to get current river conditions and tips delivered every Friday to your inbox.