Elbow Park Flood Plain Wiki

Welcome to the Elbow Park Flood Plain Community Page




'''JULY 29, 2013 - THIS SITE HAS BEEN REPLACED BY THE CALGARY RIVER COMMUNITIES ACTION GROUP SITE. GO TO www.crcactiongroup.com TO ACCESS UPDATED INFORMATION'''

'''The information on this wiki site will no longer be updated. Plese see the CRC Action Group site for currrent information. '''

Next Steps

The response to the call for volunteers has been overwhelming. We had 113 people sign up to volunteer on Tuesday night and many more via email in the past couple of days. We are collating all of the information and are in the process of creating sub-groups to take us forward on several fronts. Stay tuned for more information in the coming days.

Latest Updates

July 26, 2013 - Yedlin: Calgary needs to take bold action after the flood

July 25, 2013 - Premier Redford made some encourgaing comments about flood mitigation but columnist Don Braid asks good questions about the political will to complete mitigation projects. Conclusion: Our message seems to be getting through but we need to keep up the pressure.

July 24, 2013 - Sincere thanks to the 500+ neighbours who came out to our community meeting on Tuesday night. Emma and I have captured a few brief comments in our community meeting summary.

July 24, 2013 - Inner city residents call for major flood mitigation- Calgary Herald

July 23, 2013 - Calgary's resiliency - and the sharing of costs. Globe and Mail editorial

July 21, 2013 - The Government of Alberta announced a community advisory panel tasked with looking at community flood mitigation. We see this as a step in the right direction. Click here to read the government news release.

July 21 - 2013 - Province fields tough questions from flood victims at Calgary’s first public forum- Calgary Herald

See the news archive for past updates.

In The News

Province fields tough questions from flood victims at Calgary’s first public forum - Calgary Herald - July 22, 2013

Yedlin - Where's the plan to prevent future floods? - Calgary Herald - July 19, 2013

Homeowners fear financial ruin amid confusion over government relief - Calgary Herald - July 16, 2013

Province will ban future development on floodways- Calgary Herald - July 15, 2013

Government of Alberta Flood Hazard Map

Alberta Government Disaster Recovery Program Information

FLOODWAY DESIGNATION  July 16, 2013 - We received a significant update on the implications of the "floodway" and "flood fringe" designations. Please see the Floodway Designation page for details.

Future Flood Mitigation

A lot of neigbours have asked why more wasn't done after the 2005 flood to prevent future floods and what will be done to prevent the catastrophic damage we've all experienced from happening again. The first question is one we won't likely get answers to (even though there was a report completed in 2006 that made 18 recommendations about how to avoid future flood damage). However, it is important to note that one of the key recommendations of the report was to stop development in flood plains, which appears to be what's behind the flood plain and flood fringe changes announced on July 14th.

As for future flood mitigation / avoidance there seems to be a consensus amongst neighbours that some form of upstream flood mitigation would be the best approach. I believe as a community we should push hard for this. It seems logical that a community-wide or city-wide flood prevention strategy would be much more effective than one-off changes to individual houses.

Please see the Flood Mitigation page for more information.

Mental Health Resources

This has been a difficult time for all of us. Most of us are getting close to completing our cleanup; we're past the adrenaline stage and are starting down the long road to rebuilding. Coupled with the uncertainty of the flood plain changes it can all be a bit much. Supporting our neighbours is one of the best ways to get through a difficult time but here are some additional resources:

AHS - Coping After the Flood - http://blogs.albertahealthservices.ca/floodcope/

Distress Centre - 24 hour crisis line (403) 266-HELP (4357) or online chat at www.distresscentre.com

211 - Information on programs and services available to help you and your neighbours deal with the flood. Dial 211 or visit this site for more information

Calgary Counselling Centre - www.calgarycounselling.com or call (403) 265-4980