The province is promising $13.4 million for six projects meant to help Calgary weather another major flood like the one that devastated the city in 2013.
“Our future and our economic well-being will be directly affected by extreme weather. In Calgary that means we must be ready for dramatic swings in river flows,” Environment Minister Shannon Phillips said at a Wednesday press conference.
READ MORE: Tour of Calgary homes severely damaged in 2013 floods
She added the money would help protect downtown Calgary and neighbouring communities.
“Given that there are so many social, economic and environmental costs, we must adapt to this changing reality.”
The province will put $9.8 million toward two pump stations in Calgary’s Sunnyside neighbourhood, including a new flood-dedicated pump station.
“Put together with other projects on our priority list … we should be able to keep these low-lying areas with historical challenges with our drainage system, clean and safe and dry in flood events,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi said about the Sunnyside pump stations.
READ MORE: City shores up river banks to protect against flooding
Another $1.7 million has been earmarked for flood resilience improvements to a sanitary lift station in Roxboro. The West Eau Claire flood barrier will receive another $740,000 and an additional $567,000 is for improvements to the Harvie Passage, aimed at protecting the community of Inglewood, the Calgary Zoo and the Deerfoot LRT line.
The City of Calgary will also receive $522,500 through the Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program for a soil bio-engineering demonstration site along the Bow River to illustrate how riverbanks can be stabilized using willows and other native plants.
READ MORE: Province announces $25M in flood-protection funding for southern Alberta
The minister said Alberta has invested more than $380 million in community-level flood-mitigation since the 2013 floods and that it has pledged $150-million to Calgary over the next 10 years.
SEE BELOW: A breakdown of the investments in city flood-mitigation projects.
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