CALGARY – Officials are assuring residents living in the inner city communities of Sunnyside and Hillhurst that they’ve stepped up flood prevention measures.
Both communities were hit hard by Calgary’s devastating flooding in June, and were drenched again a week later by a flash flood.
At the time, some residents questioned if the second flood could have been prevented if nearby storm water outfall gates hadn’t been partially closed.
The gates were positioned to prevent the river from overflowing, but some homeowners suggested it stopped rain from having a place to drain.
The City of Calgary held a meeting on Wednesday to detail their recent flood mitigation work.
They say storm water outfall gates are now automated to control water flow in and out of the storm drain system.
“By having them automated, what it allows us to do is to operate them remotely,” explains Francois Bouchart, City of Calgary. “More importantly, it allows us to keep them open and close them when we need to. So it reduces the risk to the community — because in the past if there was a rapid melt or if there was a rainfall during the time that the gates were closed, the water didn’t have anywhere to go.”
Officials also say eroded riverbanks are being rebuilt.
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