City responds to heavy rainfall: update

Heavy rainfall earlier this evening compounded by remaining saturated soils in low lying areas adjacent to the Bow River resulted in some flooding of underpasses and localized flooding in some neighbourhoods.

The City was well positioned to respond quickly given the Municipal Emergency Plan remains activated and the Emergency Operations Centre continues to be staffed.

“While water flows do remain high, they are stable,” says Dan Limacher, Director of Water Services. “The Bow River’s water flow is currently 410 cubic metres per second – similar to what it has been the last several days and is expected to remain for at least a couple of days yet.”

Between 5 and 8 pm this evening, 311 received 47 calls regarding catch basins not being able to drain water adequately from streets. More than one third of the calls received were from Sunnyside.

Calgary Fire Department and City crews are on scene to assess the situation. Pumping is underway.

The Blackfoot Trail at 26 Avenue SE (underpass) is currently closed. Waters receded quickly on Memorial Drive and is now open.

Residents experiencing collections of water are asked to please use caution and reminded to not attempt to drive through pools of standing water as they may be difficult to gage how deep they are.

“Residents living in low lying areas have been through a very difficult time these past two weeks and we are doing everything we can to address their concerns as quickly as possible,” says Limacher. “If you are experiencing water issues in your home related to this evening’s rainfall, please call 3-1-1.”