Overland flooding not expected in Calgary, say officials
Water still being released from Glenmore reservoir
Crews are keeping an eye on the water levels in Calgary as more rain is expected to fall in the city this week.
Rainfall warnings are still in effect for areas in the south end of Alberta, but do not include Calgary. Officials say the city is not expecting any significant rainfall.
- Environment Canada | Public Weather Alerts for Alberta
- River Flood Mitigation Program
- Flood watch, rainfall warnings issued in southern Alberta
"Our river monitoring group is right on top of the situation, right on top of forecasts and we are assessing forecasts on a four- to six-hour basis right now," said Rick Valdarchi, the program manager for the city's River Flood Mitigation Program.
Pathway underpasses on the Elbow River are closed and the Glenmore Reservoir is closed for recreational use.
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Valdarchi says crews continue to release water from the reservoir to make room in case Calgary does get a lot of rain.
"What we're trying to do is buffer these events as they come into the region. So as we do get precipitation and we do get flows increasing upstream of the reservoir, the space allows us to moderate that downstream flow."
Valdarchi expects the level of the Elbow will come up even further today, but will still be at levels much lower than during last year's flood.
The seasonal norm for the Elbow River below the Glenmore Reservoir is 30 to 90 cubic metres per second (m³/s). During last year’s flood, the Elbow River below the reservoir peaked at 700 m³/s.
High River update
High River residents have been anxiously watching the water.
On Tuesday morning, town officials said river forecasters are expecting a total of 70 millimetres of rain by Wednesday evening, which would result in a 1.2 metre rise in river levels with a 215 m³/s flow rate.
"With this flow rate it is only the neighbourhood of Wallaceville that is in any danger of seeing low level flooding – and Wallaceville area residents have been notified accordingly. The rest of the town is protected by berms, dikes and other flood mitigation methods to at least 1200 m³/s," officials said in a press release.