A local Cabin in Bragg Creek, aftermath of the 2013 floods. Photo credit: Springbank Community Association
Against the Current:
The Springbank Offstream Reservoir
A look back at Southern Alberta's flood
The 2013 Alberta floods which occurred between June 17-19, was one of the most horrific natural disasters that the province had ever seen. This superflood affected one quarter of the entire province, and hit at the heart of downtown and south Calgary, resulting in injuries, flooded houses, and evacuations.
Over 100,000 Albertans were forced to abandon their homes and find a safe place to take refuge, until they could go back home to see the damage. Five Calgarians lost their lives in the floods, and hundreds more were injured.
According to a Government of Canada article, it was projected that there was damage costs exceeding over $6 billion, making it Canada's most expensive natural disaster.
Memories Along the river
Jeanne Barry has lived in Calgary for most of her life, and although she lived in a safe neighbourhood that was not affected during the floods, many of her friends were not as lucky.
“We lived in Dalhousie on a hill,” recalled Barry regarding her personal safety during the floods. “I had several friends from different parts of the city come and stay with me.”
​
Jennifer Hawking, on the other hand, was living in the residential area of Rideau Park, alongside the Elbow River in Southwest Calgary. She was on maternity leave during the evacuations, and speaks about the damage caused to her house.
“Our house is a very old house, so we have a very low ceiling in the basement,” said Hawking. “It [the water] made it up to about an inch off the ceiling of the basement, so probably about six feet of water.”
In November 2013, the Government of Alberta announced multiple projects in order to mitigate the risk of this type of flooding ever happening again. Their main project is the SR-1 project which includes the building of the Springbank reservoir, in order for Calgary to accommodate water volumes equal to the 2013 flood.
Although Jeanne Barry is not fully up-to-date with the current status of the flood mitigation, she worries about the houses in communities that are alongside the Elbow and Bow Rivers.
“Look at these houses around here,” said Barry as she looks over to the houses along the Elbow River in Southwest Calgary. “If there was another huge flood, they would be in big trouble.”
Although there has been money poured into funding the SR-1 project, critics ask if the money would actually help prevent a future flood as dangerous as the one in 2013.
Is this controversial project the answer to saving Calgary from the next major flood?
By: Sajan Jabbal, Bill Atwood, and Daniel Gonzalez