The City of Calgary remains in a state of local emergency due to significant flooding

Call 311 for flood-related calls only. Call 911 in case of emergency.

Water Flows

Elbow below GM Dam – at 50 cms

Now within normal flows for this time of year

Bow below the BP Dam – at 430 cms

Flows upstream of Calgary are improving
Plan underway with Transalta to be reduce flow below BP dam to 300 cms by mid-day Saturday

Flows at confluence – 480 cms

Normal flows this time of year – around 250 cms still 2 times above normal
Flows should be approaching 350 cms at confluence by mid-day Saturday

Safety:

With the Canada Long weekend right around the corner, citizens are urged to stay away from all riverbanks. Riverbanks in numerous places around Calgary have eroded and their condition is aggravated when waters recede. Flow rates in the Bow River are still dangerous, no matter how they may appear on the surface.

Under no circumstance should anyone take part in recreational activity on either the Bow or Elbow Rivers this weekend. Until further notice, stay away from the rivers.

As major cleanup efforts continue this weekend, the City reminds everyone to wear proper protective gear when cleaning up flooded areas. There exists high potential to be exposed to dangerous mould, chemicals and bacteria, so don’t start any cleanup process without gloves, boots and masks.

Transit:

Transit reports a relatively light morning commute today, with no major issues.

Roads:

St Georges Drive remains closed until further inspection is completed on the bridge Piers. This will be completed once water levels fall; likely next week.
Baines bridge (north end of zoo) can handle normal traffic but is restricted access.
4 Street underpass is closed due to water issues.
9 Avenue SE remains closed.

Volunteer Transportation Hub:

In anticipation of a high turnout of volunteers assisting in flood affected neighbourhoods, The City of Calgary is implementing a volunteer transportation hub to minimize traffic in communities.

Currently Erlton, Elbow Park and Mission are still experiencing heavy traffic related to the cleanup efforts in these communities. As a result citizens as well as City workers and vehicles are having difficulty accessing and moving around to attend to the communities’ needs.

To help keep roadways accessible for cleanup efforts over the Canada Day long weekend, the City is asking volunteers to go to the transportation hub.

Volunteers will park their vehicles at the Mount Royal University transportation hub and then be transported to communities that need their help by Calgary Transit buses.

Using this free transportation service will assist the community volunteers and keep roadways clear so that cleanup crews and equipment can help Calgary recover from the flood as fast as possible.

Volunteer transportation hub location and information:

Mount Royal University, address: 4825 Mount Royal Gate SW. Parking will be lot numbers 3 and 4, spill over lot number is 5.
Buses will be taking volunteers to each of the 3 Community Support Centres between the hours of 8am – 11 am.
Volunteers will be bussed out between the hours of 2pm – 6pm back to the designated site.

Water:

Our water treatment plants are functioning well, and the quality of Calgary’s drinking water remains high; however the treatment process remains slower as a result of the increased silt and sediment in the rivers.

Outdoor water restrictions are still in effect and we must all continue to conserve water. The City is grateful to citizens for their cooperation with water limitations as these efforts have helped immensely.

With the anticipated hot weather this weekend, the City recognizes that Calgarians will be eager to tend to their outdoor plants. At this time, the use of sprinklers and hoses is still not permitted, and citizens are encouraged to use rain water when at all possible.

Power:

ENMAX is pleased to announce that at 9:28pm tonight, the entire ENMAX Calgary grid is now ‘energized’, including the remaining portions of downtown Calgary, This means all buildings now have access to electricity, if they have passed City of Calgary inspection. Individual buildings are now able to proceed with the appropriate steps to power up their individual buildings by contacting 311 and arranging inspections (if they haven’t already done so) in order to get reconnected.

For those properties in the downtown core where building inspections were successful and already approved for power restoration, ENMAX will begin to restore electricity to these buildings throughout the night.

Building Managers are reminded that when the electricity is turned back on to their building, it will also turn on any electrical appliances that where left on when evacuation took place. To ensure the safety of building occupants and your building, you must take the following steps prior to turning on the main disconnect in your building:

Notify all occupants
Ensure all appliances are off
Ensure that all life safety systems are fully operational and functioning as required
Call 911 if any signs of electrical shorts or fire are observed

Relocation of Evacuees:

A plan is in place to move evacuees from Acadia Recreation Centre, Southland Leisure Centre and Village Square Leisure Centre to other locations. These sites will revert to normal recreation centres.

Some people will not be relocated as they are able to return to their home. In some cases, other people have already been moved to their new locations which include local schools or post-secondary dorms.

In order to keep people with similar needs together and ensure that those needs are met, relocation is based on matching site resources to people’s needs.

Emergency Social Services staff will remain at Acadia, Southland and Village Square until all evacuees have retrieved their belongings.

Canada Day Celebrations:

Confident that we are now on the path to recovery, Calgary is proud to commemorate Canada Day and celebrate the unifying of our citizens in improving the lives of those impacted by floods.