apega flood report

54 | PEG SEPTEMBER 2013

COVER

On the

Ground and in the

MuckWhen southern Alberta needed

APEGA Members and permit

holders, you were there — with

your wallets, your brains, your

brawn and your compassion.

Following is a sampling of your

stories, along with a close look

at the damage done by the

Great Flood of 2013, the lessons

learned and the strategies

necessary for mitigation

STORIES BY CORINNE LUTTERMember & Internal Communications

Coordinator

SEPTEMBER 2013 PEG | 55

-photo by Corinne Lutter


COVER

‘No One Person Could Do This Alone’They flipped burgers and baked muffins to feed volunteers. They scrubbed mould and removed muck

and ruined appliances from flooded homes. Raised money for relief efforts. Donated their professional

services and time. APEGA Members were among the thousands of Albertans who stepped forward in a

time of need to help communities recover and rebuild

The humans may have been kept away, but there were no such

restrictions for the nine long-toed salamanders living it up in the

toxic muck in Linda Clarke’s flooded High River home. Volunteers

from Stewart Weir, a land surveying, engineering and environ-

mental consulting firm, found the amphibious residents on July

16, nearly a month after the Highwood River spilled its banks and

turned Ms. Clarke’s Sunrise neighbourhood into a lake dotted with

flooded houses.

Crews were now allowed into Ms. Clarke’s home to start

cleaning up, and the team from Stewart Weir’s Calgary office was

eager to get at it. While staff had been doing work in the town for

a couple weeks already, this house had a personal connection. Ms.

Clarke’s daughter, Laura Richeson,

is a safety representative with the

company, and her co-workers had

been waiting since late June to

help on site.

Volunteers from her employer

brought not only their muscles,

says Ms. Richeson, but also

supplies, food, drinks and caring.

“I can’t begin to explain how

important their support has been

for us,” she says. “No one person

could do this alone. No family

could do this alone.”

“Being a family is one of

our company values,” says Basir

Saleh, P.Eng., Stewart Weir’s

transportation infrastructure

manager. “It makes it very special

to help one of our own.”

The high-water mark was

six inches above Ms. Clarke’s

main floor. Despite the devastation to her modest, one-storey

bungalow, a smile lit up her face as she watched Mr. Saleh and

the other volunteers — their white coveralls now spattered with

brown — haul ruined belongings to the front curb. “I have these

wonderful people to help me and a loving family, and that’s more

important than stuff,” she says. “There’s no way you could put a

value on the work that these people have done, and the passion

and caring they have given me is just overwhelming.”

The volunteers did, by the way, safely relocate those

salamanders.

Stewart Weir budgeted $25,000 for 40 Calgary staff members

to support cleanup in Calgary and High River. Between June 24

and July 19, teams of five to 10 employees spent more than 700

hours pitching in.

“About 90 per cent of our staff members have picked up

a shovel and gone out to help,” says Mr. Saleh. “Residents are

grateful. Every individual that you talk to has a story that touches

people’s hearts. They are

overwhelmed, but the helping

hands give them hope more than

anything. Everybody has that

sense of hope for the future.”

Walking around High River in

mid-July, he was shocked by the

damage. “It was just devastating,

and to me that’s when it kind of

kicked in, the havoc two or three

weeks later. It was completely

a ghost town, cars full of mud.

When you see it on TV it’s one

thing, but when you see it in real

life it hits home,” says Mr. Saleh.

MISSION POSSIBLE — BUT DAUNTING

Members of the integrity

engineering group at Calgary’s

NAL Resources Management also

felt compelled to lend a hand to

their neighbours in the south. Nine volunteers cleaned two High

River houses in one day as part of the Mission Possible 2 Flood

Relief efforts.

“Everyone chipped in shoveling mud, moving furniture,

tearing up carpet and even removing a now infamous fridge from

“I have these

wonderful people to

help me and a loving

family, and that’s

more important

than stuff.”LINDA CLARKE

High River Resident


FROM HOME TO CURB

High River homeowner Linda Clarke (back row, third from left) is surrounded by her family and the clean-up crew from Stewart Weir outside her flooded High River home, including

Basir Saleh, P.Eng. (front left). Ms. Clarke was finally able to start cleaning out her flooded Sunrise home on July 16.



COVER

one apartment,” says team lead Adam

Moore, P.Eng. “It was very moving to see

the community pitching in to help their

neighbours with the huge recovery effort.

We quickly realized how daunting this

cleanup is and how difficult it would be for

residents if they didn’t receive help and

donations.”

The homeowners included an elderly

couple who couldn’t move furniture on

their own. “They made a point of taking a

photo of each group of volunteers so they

could always remember the help they got,”

says Mr. Moore. “At the second house we

visited, we helped retrieve mud-soaked

furniture from the basement, which was

an engineering challenge in itself as the

furniture weighed several times more than

if it was dry and it was extremely difficult

to grip.”

FOCUSED FUNDRAISING

Returning to their downtown Calgary office

a few days after the flooding, employees

and executives at Focus Corporation had

one question on their minds: What can we

do to help?

“Before we knew it, everyone was

donating money towards relief from

the flooding,” says Trent Purvis, P.Eng.,

Focus’s manager of land development

engineering in the southern region. “We

were really blown away by the employees’

generosity.”

Through the company’s Stampede

breakfast, golf and bowling tournaments,

along with other events, employees raised

$15,000, a total the company matched. On

one day’s notice, staff also answered an

appeal to organize a barbecue that fed 300

hungry volunteers who were helping the

owners of flooded homes.

“It was really rewarding,” says Mr.

Purvis. “We felt like it was a small effort

that we could make to support the hun-

dreds of people who were getting their

hands dirty and cleaning up.”

BEFORE AND AFTER

Adam Moore, P.Eng., (above, blue coveralls) and a team of volunteers from NAL Resources lend a hand in High River,

cleaning two houses in one day. Among their tasks: shoveling mud, moving furniture and tearing up carpet.

-photos courtesy Adam Moore, P.Eng.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 64 ››


COVER

APEGA DirectorHas ‘Critical,Positive Impact’From a helicopter 600 feet above Kananaskis Country, APEGA’s

Director, Corporate Services, gained new respect for the force

of the June 2013 floods. Malcolm Bruce, MSM, saw trees that had

been snapped like twigs, roads washed out of existence, bridges

wiped out.

“It was very sobering to see the extent of the damage,” recalls

Mr. Bruce.

Four days earlier, as much of southern Alberta was being

swamped by flood waters, Mr. Bruce got a call from an old friend

and former military colleague. Andre Corbould, P.Eng., had been

appointed Chief Assistant Deputy Minister of the Southern Alberta

Flood Recovery Task Force. Was Mr. Bruce available to help get the

task force up and running?

Mr. Bruce and APEGA’s executive were quickly on board.

“APEGA was looking at ways to assist and this seemed like a good

fit,” says Mr. Bruce, who works from APEGA’s Edmonton office. He

was seconded to the task force for two weeks.

“APEGA had a very critical, positive impact on the recovery

task force, starting from day one, by providing Malcolm’s expertise,”

says Mr. Corbould. “I had about four days to build a task force of

up to 80 people. At the same time I had to figure out what the task

force was going to do once it was built. So I reached out to APEGA

for a specific expertise and got great support.”

Mr. Bruce’s expertise comes out of 30 years in the military

with a focus on leadership and planning. The former commander of

CFB Suffield has five overseas missions under his belt, including

divisional level planning in Iraq with the British Forces and as a

chief of advisers in Afghanistan. He was involved in operational

planning during the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver — but more

pertinently the 1997 Red

River flood in Manitoba

and the 2007 Fraser

River flood in B.C.

“My background and

experience have enabled

me to take a concept, an

idea, and bring it through

to fruition. That’s one of

the skillsets that I was

able to bring to the table,”

says Mr. Bruce.

His immediate role

was to help develop the

task force’s organiza-

tional structure and find

individuals from various

government departments to staff it. He also helped develop a model

for the provincial recovery framework.

The Alberta Emergency Management Agency was in charge of

the immediate response, but the task force was needed to quickly

take over recovery and rebuilding.

“It was a bit of a challenge to ensure that we had the right

people in place, but every ministry really stepped up to the plate.

“It was a bit of a challenge to ensure that

we had the right people in place, but every

ministry really stepped up to the plate. They

were really putting their best folks forward”MALCOLM BRUCE, MSM

They were really putting their best folks forward,” says Mr. Bruce.

Within two week, the task force was about 70 per cent staffed

and Alberta Emergency Management Agency was beginning to

transition responsibility for some affected communities to the task

force. When Mr. Bruce’s work wrapped up on July 3, the task force

was fully operational.

“I’ve worked on a number of domestic operations in this

country and this was by far one of the best responses I’ve seen.

From the Premier right through to the folks affected on the ground,

people just wanted to do the right thing and get on with the job,”

says Mr. Bruce. “I met some tremendous individuals over the course

of the two weeks and I was very proud to be a small part of it.”

MALCOLM BRUCE, MSM


THE FUN ELEMENT

A contingent from Scheffer Andrew Ltd. is shown at the Alberta Flood Aid concert. From left are Ben Petch, Todd Boley, Ross Thurmeier, P.Eng., Matt Luik, P.Eng.,

and Angie Lucas.

-photo courtesy Matt Liuk, P.Eng.


COVER

APEGA Members and permit holders are among those who have opened their hearts and wallets to raise money in straightforward — and creative — ways

Performers held benefit events, children set up lemonade stands,

and the Calgary Stampede sold more than 150,000 Hell or High

Water T-shirts. There were silent auctions, comedy nights, bake

sales, pancake breakfasts and even Alberta Rose doughnuts at Tim

Hortons.

Professional Members responded to an appeal on APEGA’s

website and donated more than $17,000 to flood relief efforts

through the Canadian Red Cross. APEGA permit holders large

and small were among the generous companies that not only

provided expertise and resources to flood-ravaged communities

— everything from cleaning supplies to fuel cards to pumping

services and volunteers — but also pledged thousands and even

millions of dollars to relief organizations. Many companies are

matching individual employee contributions.

John Henry, P.Eng., president and CEO of Calgary-based

Tarpon Energy Services, watched as floods inundated his home

town of High River. A company news release said Tarpon was

donating $10,000 to the Red Cross. “It’s overwhelming to see

the devastation . . . Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone

affected by the floods,” Mr. Henry said.

AltaLink announced on its website a $100,000 contribution

to the Calgary Foundation’s Flood Rebuilding Fund. “Like so

many others, we have been inspired by the spirit shown by

volunteers to help their neighbours as Alberta recovers from

this flood,” said Dennis Frehlich, P.Eng., AltaLink’s interim

president and CEO.

With a US $1 million contribution, ConocoPhillips was

among several corporations that announced seven-figure

donations. “So many people in southern Alberta have been

impacted by this disaster, and we want to support the

outstanding work that emergency responders and organizations

like the Red Cross have been doing, and will be doing over the

coming days and weeks,” said Ken Lueers, P.Geol., president of

ConocoPhillips Canada.

Among other permit-holding companies that donated are

• Agrium ($50,000)

• Apache Canada ($500,000)

• Canadian Natural Resources Ltd. ($1 million)

• Cenovus Energy Inc. ($1 million)

• Chevron Canada Resources ($150,000)

• Dow Chemical Canada, with Dow Agro Sciences ($100,000)

• Encana Corp.($500,000)

• Finning Canada, with Caterpillar Foundation ($150,000)

• Focus Corporation ($15,000)

• FortisAlberta Inc. ($100,000)

• General Electric Canada ($50,000)

• Husky Energy Inc. ($1 million)

• Imperial Oil, with Exxon Mobil ($500,000)

• Long Run Exploration Ltd., Phoenix Technology Services,

Cathedral Energy Services Ltd., Coral Hill Energy Ltd.,

Secure Energy Services Inc. and industry partners

($1 million)

• Noise Solutions ($10,000)

• Nova Chemicals Corporation ($100,000)

• Q9 Networks ($50,000)

• Shaw Communications ($1 million)

• Shell Canada ($550,000)

• Statoil Canada and PTTEP Canada Ltd. ($1 million)

• Suncor Energy Inc. ($1.5 million)

• Syncrude Canada Ltd. ($150,000)

• Viterra Inc. ($75,000).

Editor’s Note: APEGA staff went to a number of sources to find

out which of our permit holders made donations to flood relief,

but of course it was impossible to find out about them all. If your

company made a donation that is not acknowledged here, please

email the information to Gillian Bennett, editorial assistant,

[email protected], and we’ll make mention in The PEG or online.

If you have an interesting donation-in-

kind story to tell us, please

pass that information

along, too.

From Doughnuts to Dollars

mpany made a donation that is not acknowledged here, please

mail the information to Gillian Bennett, editorial assistant,

[email protected], and we’ll make mention in The PEG or online.

you have an interesting donation-in-

nd story to tell us, please

ss that information

ong, too.


COVER

SEARCH, RESCUE — AND INSPECT

Christopher Banbury, P.Eng., a volunteer with Canada

Task Force 2, inspects a C-Train bridge in Calgary

along Macleod Trail near Erlton/Stampede Station.

The bridge spans the Elbow River.

-photo courtesy Canada Task Force 2

“There were

massive piles

of donations in

the middle of the

gym. It was so

high it reached

half-way up the

ceiling. There

were no limits

to how generous

people had

been with their

donations.”

BINNU JEYA KUMAR, P.ENG.Volunteer in Morley


COVER

FROM HASHTAG TO HANDS

A few days after the flooding, Calgarian

Binnu Jeya Kumar, P.Eng., was checking

#YYC on Twitter when she saw a call for

volunteers in Morley, one of several First

Nations communities hit hard by flood

waters. She baked three dozen muffins

for volunteers, then headed out to deliver

them and see how else she could help.

“I ended up spending the day in the

high school gym in Morley where the

donations were coming in, helping sort the clothing and food. It

was a very inspiring day,” says Ms. Jeya Kumar. “There were

massive piles of donations in the middle of the gym. It was so

high it reached half-way up the ceiling. There were no limits to

how generous people had been with their donations.”

THE FEE WAIVING WAVE

In the aftermath of the flooding, the media reported that engineers

were walking around flooded neighbourhoods, volunteering

professional services. Calgary resident Naser Rabbani, P.Eng., was

one of them. He provided structural inspections on several severely

damaged homes in High River. It was just one small way he could

help victims who lost so much, he says.

“It was really sad to see all the destruction caused, although

the people I met were so strong and determined to move on,” says

Dr. Rabbani, who has a PhD in civil engineering.

THE SEARCH-AND-RESCUE ENGINEER

Canada Task Force 2 — CAN-TF2 for short — is a heavy, urban

search-and-rescue team of more than 100 firefighters, paramedics,

doctors and other professionals. All of them are volunteers. At the

request of the provincial government, the team responded to the

crisis.

“Every individual that you talk to has a story

that touches people’s hearts. They are

overwhelmed, but the helping hands give

them hope, more than anything. Everybody

has that sense of hope for the future.”

BASIR SALEH, P.ENG.Stewart Weir

Among CAN-TF2’s ranks is a structural engineer, Edmonton-

based Christopher Banbury, P.Eng. Actually a U.S. resident, Mr.

Banbury came to Canada in 2011 on a work visa.

The flood was his first deployment with the task force. He

arrived in Calgary on June 22 in the midst of the disaster, and

spent six days assisting the city’s emergency operations centre by

inspecting bridges, flooded homes and commercial buildings.

“I wanted to do something to help, something to give back to

the community and to Canada, and this is one way I could do that

effectively,” says Mr. Banbury.

SONGS OF SUPPORT

Eight weeks after the flooding, APEGA Members were still giving

back. A team of volunteers from Scheffer Andrew Ltd. helped out

at the Alberta Flood Aid concert, Aug. 15 at Calgary’s McMahon

Stadium. The concert raised an estimated $1.5 million for the

Calgary Foundation’s Flood Rebuilding Fund. A variety of Canadian

acts from across the popular music spectrum performed, among

them Jann Arden, the Sadies, the Sheepdogs, Nickelback, Loverboy,

Ian Tyson and Colin James.

Says Matt Luik, P.Eng., the Calgary branch manager for Scheffer

Andrew: “As a firm of planners and engineers in the land develop-

ment industry, the flooding affected us and our clients personally and

professionally. Volunteering at such a great event was a fitting way to

give back to our community, and it was a lot of fun.”

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 58 ››


COVERFlood NumbersOVERALL

19 the day in June that flooding

starts in Canmore — the Great

Flood of 2013 is underway

150 to 200 rainfall in

millimetres

in the upper portions of the Bow, Oldman

and Red Deer River basins

S300 rainfall in millimetres in

the Sheep River basin

20 the day in June that #abflood

begins trending on Twitter

29 number of local states of

emergency declared

55,000 total flood zone in

square kilometres

14,500 homes damaged across

southern Alberta

2,700people still in temporary

housing, in hotels, or with

friends and family two months after the flooding

8,000applications for

disaster recovery relief

as of mid-August

10number of years the

Government of Alberta

estimates full recovery may take

1 billion amount in dollars of Govern-

ment of Alberta’s initial, first-phase support

of flood recovery and reconstruction

5 billion+ dollars necessary

to rebuild damaged infrastructure

400 million damage in dollars

from the 2005 floods in Alberta

2,300 Canadian Forces troops deployed

254 homes located in floodways

that may qualify for

government relocation funds

985 kilometres of provincial roads

and bridges closed from damage

857 kilometres of provincial roads and

bridges reopened as of Sept. 4

CALGARY

50,000 residents evacuated

from 26 neighbourhoods

1,750 peak flow of Bow River in cubic

metres per second, which is

equal to about 100 million litres of water

flowing past every minute and is more than

twice the peak flow during the 2005 flood

2,500 seats replaced in the Calgary

Scotiabank Saddledome

10 rows of Saddledome flooded

650,000 hours crews put in

repairing Saddledome

5 the September day the

Saddledome reopens

11 & 12 the September days the Eagles

perform at the Saddledome

20 bridges closed

16 C-Train stations closed

3C-Train tunnels flooded

34,000 locations without power

1.5 time in days it takes to rebuild 0.3

lane-kilometres of MacLeod Trail

washed out by the Elbow River

12 days to rebuild 100 metres of C-Train

lines destroyed by flood water

424 million Estimated cost

in dollars to

repair damaged city infrastructure

45mm Calgary rainfall on June

20, a one-day record

35.1mm One day, previous record for

rainfall, set in 1964

160 Calgary Zoo animals moved

to higher ground

HIGH RIVER

13,000residents evacuated

300 residents who defied the

evacuation order

80% of High

River

without

basic

services, such as water, electricity and

sewage, during the worst of the flooding

30 thousand tonnes of garbage taken

to Foothills Regional Landfill in

six weeks after the flood

300-400 tonnes of garbage taken to Foothills

Regional Landfill during an average month

2,050 truckloads of debris

removed from High

River’s residential areas

CANMORE


120 homes damaged along

Cougar Creek, including 40

with structural damage

3§ Cougar Creek homes not

expected to be repairable

30 width of Cougar Creek in metres

before the flood

150 width of Cougar Creek in metres

after the flood

MEDICINE HAT

7,100+ residents evacuated

1,000 estimated homes damages

5,460 peak

flow in

cubic

metres per second of the South

Saskatchewan River


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SIKSIKA FIRST NATION


170 homes flooded

STONEY NAKODA NATION

700 people evacuated

300 homes flooded

TURNER VALLEY

46 homes evacuated due to sour gas

pipeline leak, the result of debris in

the Sheep River damaging a flow line

6 homes flooded

BRAGG CREEK


180 homes flooded

BLACK DIAMOND

66 homes evacuated

61 homes flooded

'1 water treatment

plant destroyed

3 wells destroyed

KANANASKIS COUNTRY

740 people evacuated from

campgrounds and other facilities

25 aerial missions to rescue people

and deliver supplies

116 people rescued by aerial missions

TRANSCANADA HIGHWAY

6 time in days it takes to reopen high-

way to two-way traffic after major

washout between Canmore and Banff

EXSHAW

320 people evacuated

120 homes flooded

Flood Recovery Leaders

Tell Their Stories —

And Outline Their Plans

In post-flood Alberta, Professional Engineers are crucial to the recovery and rebuilding process. Meet four leaders whose experience and skills are being put to the test as provincial and municipal governments clean up and face the future


COVER

Q&A with Andre Corbould, P.Eng., OMM

Chief Assistant Deputy Minister, Southern Alberta Flood Recovery Task ForceB.Eng. (Civil Engineering), Royal Military College of Canada (1989)

Master’s Degree (Management), University of Canberra (2002)

Master’s Degree (Defence Management and Policy), Royal Military

College of Canada (2007)

Overseeing the widespread repair and rebuilding of flood-damaged

infrastructure is no simple task, but if anyone is up for this $5-billion

challenge, it’s Andre Corbould, P.Eng., a former brigadier-general in

the Canadian Forces. Over a 30-year military career, he worked as

an engineer and field commander on tours in Iraq, Kuwait, Bosnia,

East Timor and Afghanistan. In 2006, he worked with 24 Afghan

ministries to develop a national reconstruction plan; he returned

ALL PART OF THE JOB

Andre Corbould, P.Eng., briefs the media Aug. 22, during a Government of Alberta

announcement in Bragg Creek on floodway relocation compensation.

-photo by Joel Belizario, Government of Alberta

there in 2010 to command 20,000 troops with the United States

Army’s 10th Mountain Division.

Domestic operations he’s been involved in include the 1997

Winnipeg flood and the Swiss Air recovery in 1998. He also led

security forces at the Vancouver Winter Olympics in 2010. After

retiring from the army in 2012, Mr. Corbould transitioned to a new

public service role as Assistant Deputy Minister of Regional Services

for Alberta Transportation. His new marching orders came June 21

in the midst of the worst national disaster in Alberta’s history.

Edited and condensed for publication, the following interview looks at his

first few months on the Southern Alberta Flood Recovery Task Force.

The PEG: What was your role when the flooding began and how did it evolve?

Andre Corbould: For the first 48 hours I was working with my

regional director in southern Alberta on initial flood response,

dealing with our maintenance contractors and assessing the damage.

I got a phone call at 11 a.m. on Friday, June 21, and was asked to

lead the recovery effort. By 1 o’clock I was over in the provincial

operations centre, absorbing everything that was going on.

The PEG: What were your initial goals?

AC My job was to build a task force to eventually take over

for the Alberta Emergency Management Agency, as we

transitioned from the response to the recovery phase. On Saturday

and Sunday I spent all my effort working on my mission analysis,

putting together a draft provincial recovery framework plan to

present to the Premier and cabinet for approval.

The PEG: When did you begin putting the framework into action?

AC We started the same week we put it together. Some

elements kicked in very early; in fact some elements were

already starting with the response force, in terms of enabling and

supporting local municipalities. Some of it will take a little longer

to kick in. It’s about varying degrees. For example, the long-term

greater mitigation planning and discussion has started and we’ve

done some work in High River to scrape the river. That’s the first

of several mitigation methods that will be put into action over the

next few years. We started almost immediately with some of these

actions and of course we go back and do more and more every day.

This is a long-term recovery and I’ve been told I’ll probably be with

the task force for at least a year.

The PEG: What are the top priorities for provincial infrastruc-ture rebuilding?

AC We’ve got a four-page list of critical infrastructure that

was damaged and it includes schools, hospitals, seniors’


COVER

homes, roads, bridges, water and sewage

treatment plants. It probably took us about

three weeks to get a real good hard assess-

ment on all the provincial infrastructure that

was hit. We are clearly placing a priority

of effort on things like water and sewage

treatment plants and hospitals, because

those are essential to normalcy and healthy

living. The next level is schools. Our intent

is to make sure all schools are operational

before school starts in the fall.

The PEG: You spent some time touring the flood zones. What did you see and how did it compare to what you saw during the Winnipeg floods?

AC To see some of Highway 1 ripped

up and Highway 66 cut in half by

the force of water — it’s always surprising

to see the force of nature. That was the

initial shock. Winnipeg was different

because it was one large flooded area.

Alberta has many flooded areas with lots of

significant local impacts.

The PEG: Looking to the future, do Professional Engineers need to change the way they design public infrastructure to deal with the impacts of climate change?

AC Professional Engineers are always

changing the way that they design,

no matter what they’re doing. In my time at

Alberta Transportation, we were continually

looking at innovations and better ways of

doing things. The same is true of recovery

in a disaster. Every time one of these things

happens, we learn more about it and we

learn better ways of mitigating it. At the

provincial level, we’re definitely going to

work with others on what the best practices

are. I think there could be some designs that

come out of this that become best practices

around the world.

Gordon Stewart, P.Eng.Recovery Director, City of CalgaryB.Sc. (Civil Engineering), University of

Calgary, 1973

Gordon Stewart, P.Eng., is no stranger to

managing big projects. In 2011 and 2012, he

oversaw the largest single infrastructure

project undertaken by the City of Calgary,

the $1.4 billion west LRT line. The city’s

director of transportation infrastructure, he

was in charge of the $295 million Airport

Tunnel Road project – the most expensive

road project in the city’s history — when

flood waters hit.

Two weeks later, on July 8, he was

named recovery director for his city, a role

that’s expected to last four to 12 months.

“This was never really in my career

plan,” he says, “but it actually allows me to

draw on a number of skills that I’ve devel-

oped over the years, working on capital

projects and in plant operations and emer-

gency services. So it’s a lot of little pieces

that kind of fit together.”

Over the past few months, his job has

been to come up with an action plan on how

to get displaced Calgarians back in their

homes and repair about $425 million in

damaged infrastructure.

“My approach is to tackle this like any

other complex problem — look at what the

issues are, evaluate them and bring together

a team to solve them,” says Mr. Stewart.

“There’s going to be a lot of work done by a

lot of people, and a good chunk of those will

be engineers.”

It’s a huge challenge, partly because

the problem isn’t fully defined yet.

“We’re working through the process

now in addressing the issues, whether they

be infrastructure issues or people issues.

We’re using frameworks that we’ve put

in place to manage projects, and this is a

project like other ones,” says Mr. Stewart.

A top priority has been repairing $25

million in damaged roadways. Final repairs

to most of the city’s major transportation

infrastructure wrapped up around mid-

August. But damage to pedestrian bridges,

buildings, wastewater treatment plants,

riverbanks, paths, parkland, athletic fields

and outdoor pools will take months and

possibly years to repair or replace.

“Part of the recovery effort is de-

termining to what standards we should

construct,” says Mr. Stewart. To that end,

the city has established an expert panel to

investigate ways to reduce and manage

future flood risks.

“We’ll be looking at some of the mitiga-

TICK IT OFF THE LIST

Gordon Stewart, P.Eng., recovery director for the City

of Calgary, stands in front of the south line at Erlton/

Stampede Station, where a 100-metre stretch of tracks

destroyed by flooding was completely rebuilt in less than

two weeks.



COVER

tion strategies we should do on a larger scale,” he says. “Should we

build berms or protection walls? Obviously there are things that can

be done, and that’s what we’ll have to identify.”

And there’s a big pair of questions always in play: “What does

that cost and where does that money come from?”

Andy Esarte, P.Eng.Disaster Recovery Team Infrastructure Lead, Town of Canmore B.E.Sc. (Civil Engineering), University of Western Ontario, 2003

After experiencing two major floods in Canmore over the past

two years, Andy Esarte, P.Eng., has a whole new appreciation for

Mother Nature.

In early June 2012, flooding along Cougar Creek in the

picturesque mountain town eroded banks and damaged pathways,

causing $1.3 million in damage. Just over a year later, a flash

flood on the same creek wreaked much more havoc, washing out

highways and damaging 120 homes along its banks. The creek

grew from 40 metres wide to more than 100 metres wide in some

spots. This time, the damage is expected to reach $10 million.

Officials were still tallying the tab two months later.

“Last year was supposed to be a big one. We responded to it

fairly aggressively and spent $3.2 million on flood mitigation. That

was a really large program for a town our size,” says Mr. Esarte, the

town’s manager of engineering.

The mitigation included additional armouring along 800 metres

of creek bank, with more work planned for 2014. But on June

19, rushing water laden with boulders and trees washed out the

armouring and the banks it was protecting.

“It was humbling,” says Mr. Esarte. “It’s raised my awareness

of how important it is to better understand our natural environment

and to protect ourselves as best we can — but also that there are

limits to what you can do with engineering.”

GROUND ZERO

Mr. Esarte and town officials were monitoring the weather on June

19 and knew a significant storm system was on its way. At 4 p.m.,

on his way to an evening meeting, he checked on Cougar Creek.

It was dry — the norm other than during spring runoff or heavy

storms. When he returned around 10:30 p.m., water was starting to

flow, carrying with it debris that was already blocking culverts.

Suddenly, both the TransCanada Highway and Highway 1A

were flooded. Shortly after that, the Canadian Pacific Railway tracks

washed out.

Mr. Esarte and the town’s engineering department, alongside

local engineering consultants and other emergency personnel,

started a race to save Elk Run Boulevard and the Three Sisters

Parkway — the only routes left to bring supplies to the town. Both

were in danger of being washed out.

“When I was standing on the Elk Run culvert, a large section

of armouring that protects the culvert inlet sloughed into the creek.

The armouring had been in place for decades. It was pretty clear at

that point that this was different from the storm that had washed

out the CP tracks in the past, and that it was different from anything

we had ever experienced,” says Mr. Esarte.

Time: not even 1 a.m.

Soon after, the town began evacuating residents along the

creek and by 3:40 a.m. its emergency operations centre went live.

It took a couple of days for the town to stabilize Elk Run

Boulevard and Three Sisters Parkway, but they were able to keep

those vital outside links open for deliveries and emergency services.

“We worked around the clock for two and a half days before

it was stable. I think in the first four days, I had something like 15

hours of sleep,” says Mr. Esarte. In the first week after the event,

about 25 engineers from the town and surrounding communities

offered support with road infrastructure, bridge inspections

and other issues, including repairs to the water and wastewater

treatment plants.

WORKING THROUGH THE LIST

As of early September, all but 13 homes were safe for occupation,

says Mr. Esarte. Three houses may have to be demolished and 40

had structural damage. The disaster recovery team is working its

way down a long list of small, medium and major projects to repair

damaged infrastructure, including roads, bridges, culverts and banks.

As part of the recovery efforts, channel restoration was

undertaken on Cougar Creek to manage any summer storms. The

town has also hired an engineering firm to develop the Mountain

Creek Flood Mitigation Plan, to better understand how mountain

creeks behave and to identify steps that can be taken to reduce

future risk.

IN THE SCENE

Andy Esarte, P.Eng., inspects riprap at the centre of the historic Canmore Engine

Bridge over the Bow River. Pier armouring there was damaged in the flood and

requires repair before next flood season.

-photo courtesy Andy Esarte, P.Eng.


COVER

Rick Vincent, P.Eng.Senior Project Manager, High River Recovery Project

B.Sc. (Mechanical Engineering), University of

Waterloo, 1984

Like many of the displaced High River

homeowners his team is helping, Rick

Vincent, P.Eng., is currently living away

from home. A resident of Kelowna, B.C.,

he’s staying full-time in High River in a

temporary camp while his company, Tervita

Corporation, coordinates remediation

efforts in the flood-ravaged town. High

River remained under a local state of

emergency, more than two months after

flooding began. His stay in Alberta will last

about six months.

Not that he’s complaining.

“I think the people side of this whole

project has been the most rewarding part,”

says Mr. Vincent. “There are people here

who have been out of their homes for a

number of weeks. It’s been quite a challenge

for many residents and I really appreciate

the opportunity to be here and to be able to

help them.”

Tervita was awarded a $45-million

Government of Alberta contract on July

18, but Mr. Vincent was on the ground in

Calgary weeks before, leading cleanup

at the Saddledome, where flood waters

reached the eighth row of seats and caused

major damage to mechanical systems.

That was a warm up for the extensive

repair work being done in High River on

damaged homes, roads, bridges, sewer

lines, storm ponds, river banks and parks.

“We’ve been working seven days a

week here since we arrived. It’s been pretty

intense but we’ve made some great prog-

ress,” says Mr. Vincent.

By the end of August, Tervita had

assessed about 370 High River homes

deemed by Alberta Health Services as NFH

— Not Fit for Habitation. Many of these had

sat for weeks in stagnant, contaminated

flood water. “We go in with an environmen-

tal consultant and a structural engineer, and

they determine a scope of work that is re-

quired to rescind that NFH order and make

the home safe again,” says Mr. Vincent.

Tervita crews execute the work, which

often includes mould remediation and re-

pairs to structural damage. By the end of

August, 34 NFH homes had been remedi-

ated, with homeowners given the thumbs up

to begin renovations. Work was in progress

on more than 100 homes.

“We are trying to get people back

in their homes as soon as possible, so

we have a large number of crews on the

ground,” says Mr. Vincent.

The company is also conducting and

overseeing repairs to public infrastructure.

It removed silt and debris from more than

45 kilometres of storm sewers and began

scalping 60,000 cubic metres of gravel,

sediment and debris from the Highwood

River to improve flow.

A request for proposals has been

issued for storm pond restoration, to

improve their ability to take on large storm

water flows. This may include emptying the

ponds to remove silt deposited by the flood,

then digging them deeper.

Other projects include road and bridge

repairs. Sinkholes are appearing, and some

bridges are so damaged they may have to

be taken down and rebuilt. Plenty of general

cleanup is still going on as well, including

silt removal on roads and parkland.

“At this point we’ve done a good situa-

tion appraisal of the town and we’ve identi-

fied the areas that need to be addressed.

We’re working with the Alberta Government

and the Town of High River to understand

their priorities and receive authorization to

proceed with the work,” says Mr. Vincent.

Even though he has 25 years of project

management experience, the extent of the

damage is shocking. “I’ve certainly never

entered into an area like this,” he says.

As an engineer, the biggest challenge

has been the fast-track nature of the

project. “Prior to arriving, we had a very

short time to determine the scope of work

and develop a plan to execute the work as

quickly as possible,” says Mr. Vincent. “But

when you talk to residents and see that

your work is having a positive impact, that

makes it all worthwhile. That’s a very cool

part of the project.”

GET THOSE PEOPLE HOME

A top priority for Tervita is getting displaced High River

residents back in their homes as soon as possible, says

senior project manager Rick Vincent, P.Eng.

-photo courtesy Tervita Corporation


Editor’s Note: The facts in this story come

from a number of sources — our own

research, information published by multiple

media outlets, and government press releases.

Five billion dollars and counting. That’s the

financial cost estimate — so far — for what

is reportedly the worst flooding in the prov-

ince’s history. What can’t be measured in

dollars is the human toll. Four people died.

About 100,000 were evacuated. In all, 30

communities were affected by floods, and

2,700 people were still out of their perma-

nent homes as The PEG went to press.

The provincial government estimates

that up to 10 years will pass before the

recovery is complete. To get the process

started, it committed an initial $1 billion to

recovery and rebuilding.

“There is a significant amount of

damage and Premier Redford has been very

clear from the beginning that the recovery

process is going to be a long process,”

says Andre Corbould, P.Eng., the Assistant

Deputy Minister of the Southern Alberta

Flood Recovery Task Force.

Insurance companies are expected

Tallying Up the Damage

to cover $1.7 billion of the $5-billion price

tag. Municipalities and the provincial

government will have to cover the rest, up

front, although the federal government is

expected to eventually reimburse as much

as 90 per cent.

In mid-July, the Alberta Government

released its Provincial Recovery Framework

to guide intermediate and long-term recov-

ery, helping individuals, municipalities and

First Nations get back to normal as quickly

as possible. On Aug. 29, Finance Minister

Doug Horner provided the first fiscal update

since the flooding hit. He told the media that

$148 million had been spent on flood relief

to date and another $556 million has been

earmarked for recovery efforts.

The province’s list of damaged public

infrastructure includes

• 80 schools

• eight hospitals and health facilities

• 10 seniors’ housing facilities

• 40 wastewater and waterworks systems

• 985 kilometres of roads and bridges.

The province will also spend millions

of dollars on disaster assistance to help

SOGGY VIEW

Siksika children look over their flooded community on

June 22. As of Sept. 4, the number of Albertans living in

temporary housing in High River and on the Siksika First

Nation was 950.

-photo courtesy Cory Alston, Siksika Media

Albertans rebuild their homes and busi-

ness. An estimated 14,500 homes were

flooded and more than 8,200 applications

for disaster recovery support had already

been processed as of Sept. 4.

The province says 2,700 people —

most from Calgary, High River and Siksika

First Nation — are living in temporary

housing, in hotels or with friends and family.

An unknown number of homes are so badly

damaged they’ll have to be demolished;

assessments are still taking place.

In Calgary, the city estimates it will

cost at least $425 million for infrastructure

repairs, and possibly more. That includes

• $25 million for road repairs

• $10 million to repair or replace nine

damaged and destroyed pedestrian

bridges

• $26.5 million for corporate buildings like

the municipal building and the old city hall


• $34 million to restore riverbanks

• $18 million to repair the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment

Plant.

Sixty-five kilometres south in High River, an estimated

600 homes were declared NFH — Not Fit for Habitation — until

remediation work is completed. More than 2,050 truckloads filled

with soaked drywall, water heaters, ducts, sodden furniture and

other debris have been taken to the landfill. The province has

awarded Tervita Corporation with a $45-million contract to begin

the immediate cleanup and recovery in the community, where some

neighbourhoods sat under water for three weeks.

To the east, the community of Medicine Hat watched the flood-

water coming, and enlisted 400 Canadian Forces soldiers and local

volunteers to build protective barriers. Despite their efforts, the city

pegs damage at around $72 million.

Smaller communities were also devastated. Water from the

Bow River forced 1,000 people from their homes on the Siksika

First Nation. Families were evacuated to relief shelters but some

camped on nearby hills, watching the flood waters flow through the

valley below.

Creeks inundated the tiny mountain community of Exshaw,

where more than 75 per cent of about 120 homes were affected by

the flooding. At the end of August, 22 families were still displaced.

A video on YouTube showed the roof of a Bragg Creek home float-

ing down the Elbow River and smashing into a bridge.

Despite the devastation, there is good news. Much of the dam-

aged infrastructure was quickly repaired, and the Greatest Outdoor

Show on Earth — albeit a scaled back version — went ahead.

After a 100 metres of C-Train line were washed out in Calgary,

the city had the tracks fixed in just under two weeks, at a cost of

$8.2 million. Right beside the tracks, a jagged gash that opened on

MacLeod Trail on June 21 was patched in time for morning rush

hour on June 26. Fifty per cent of damaged roads were reopened by

June 25; 95 per cent by June 27.

At Stampede Park fairgrounds, where flooding caused massive

damage, crews worked for days to ensure that the show would go

ahead on July 5.

For the provincial government, one milestone on the road to

recovery was the reopening of the Highway 22 Sheep River Bridge

on July 12. Flooding had nearly covered the bridge structure and

washed out the approach ramp, turning the three-kilometre trip

from Turner Valley to Black Diamond into a 40-minute detour.

Crews worked every daylight hour to rechannel the river, construct

a berm, restore the bridge head slopes, backfill abutments and

construct an approach road. A project that normally would have

taken three months was done in three weeks.

Of the 985 kilometres of provincial roads and bridges

closed, 857 were reopened by mid-August. On Sept. 4, another

22-kilometre-stretch of Highway 40 in Kananaskis Country

reopened to backcountry enthusiasts. Contractors had to clear

debris that scraped the roadway, plugging culverts and ditches.

Repairs included regrading damaged sections of the highway.

At three schools in the region with extensive flood damage,

classes began as scheduled on Sept. 3 — although 950 students

were in temporary classrooms.

“We’re going to work hard, we’re going to focus on priorities,

and we’re not wasting time in getting on with making decisions. But

not withstanding that, it’s not something that’s going to be done in a

couple of months,” said Mr. Corbould.

THE SHOW WILL GO ON

The racetrack and infield at the Calgary Stampede grounds were hit by eight to 14 feet of water. Despite the extensive flood damage, hundreds of contractors and volunteers worked

around the clock so the Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth could go ahead on July 5.

-photo courtesy City of Calgary

COVER


COVER

Tales from

the FrontlinesAt the height of flooding in southern Alberta, Professional Engineers were working on the frontlines to ensure public safety and protect infrastructure. Civil engineers from Canmore and High River share their experiences

The call came in at 3:30 a.m. on June 20,

waking Darin Langhorst, P.Eng., from a

sound sleep. It was the Town of Canmore

emergency operations centre on the line.

“The phone call went something like,

‘Darin, we need you up at Elk Run Boulevard

and Cougar Creek as soon as possible. We

think the creek is going to take out Elk Run

Boulevard,” recalls Mr. Langhorst.

He was onsite 15 minutes later in his

rain gear and safety vest. It was the start

of a two-day battle to keep the road — a

vital transportation link for the mountain

community — from washing away.

LIKE ANY OTHER STORM — AT FIRST

It had started raining the night before, a

medium, steady rain that didn’t raise any

alarm bells. “It just looked like any other

storm,” says Mr. Langhorst. “The storm

systems were able to drink it, just like

normal. The abnormal part of it was that

higher up, in the alpine, we still had snow

pack and that snow pack was also getting

melted with the rain.”

A heavy rainfall warning had been

issued, calling for 100 to 150 millimetres.

Days later, Mr. Langhorst learned that

some rain gauges in the area had measured

rainfall of 200 to 300 millimetres in the 30

hours or so leading up to the flooding.

“We had this firehose of rain pouring

down and Canmore was in the epicentre

of where all this moisture was dropping

down,” he says.

Overnight, the town declared a state

of emergency and began calling in local

engineers, contractors and emergency

personnel. Parts of the TransCanada High-

BOULEVARD BLUES

When flooding hit, engineers and contractors raced to save Elk Run Boulevard in Canmore, a vital transportation link

after the Trans-Canada and Highway 1A were washed out. The road crosses Cougar Creek. The water raged on June

20 (top photo), but the creek was dry days later (bottom photo).

-photos courtesy Darin Langhorst, P.Eng.


COVER

way, Highway 1A and the Canadian Pacific

Railway tracks had been washed out, and

Cougar Creek was recklessly carving a new

path through the valley.

Suddenly Elk Run Boulevard was the

only remaining east-west route in the Bow

Valley. Officials knew it was now imperative

to keep the two-lane residential road open

to bring in food, fuel and other supplies,

not to mention materials for rebuilding

and repairs when the crisis was over. It

was also the only way for residents to be

evacuated from the east side of the creek.

Trouble was, it’s the only street in Can-

more that crosses Cougar Creek, and the

flash flood was doing its best to wipe it out.

“Cougar Creek was a massive, raging

torrent of brown water with trees and huge

boulders rolling down from the mountain-

side. It was a roar of water – like constant

thunder. A lot of the creek bank armouring

was already long gone,” says Mr. Langhorst.

Two track hoes already on site began

chucking landscape boulders and trees

around the arch culvert that passes under

the road, their operators trying to slow the

erosion. It was a bit like plugging a dike

with a finger.

“Water was chewing on the backsides

of the wing walls quite heavily. We were

losing a lot of pavement on the upstream

side and water was close to overtopping the

road,” he says.

By sunrise, though, there was a shift in

the tide when big trucks arrived and began

dumping in loads of large rocks from local

quarries. The work continued over the next

two days until the water levels dropped and

the rocks started staying in place.

A week later, the creek was dry again.

THIMBLES OF ROCK

“Awestruck is a word that comes to mind,”

says Mr. Langhorst. “To see the amount

of material the water moved in a day, and

then we come in with our tiny trackhoes

and start scooping in thimbles full of rock.

It will take us weeks and weeks and weeks

to get back some of what the water moved

in a day.”

Mr. Langhorst’s employer, McElhanney

Consulting, is one of several firms doing

recovery work in the area. The company is

working in the Eagle Terrace community,

which McElhanney’s branch manager Ron

Sadesky, P.Eng., helped design about 15

years ago. The neighbourhood is along

Cougar Creek and suffered major damage

to utilities and roads.

“Even after four to five weeks, we were

still finding new things that were broken.

Storm pipes downstream under Benchlands

Trail got packed full of massive rocks,” says

Mr. Langhorst. “So even though it looks like

we’re fixing this canyon in the road, the

damage underground extended way further

than what you can see on the streetscape.”

Despite living a few hundred metres

from Cougar Creek — his home wasn’t

damaged — Mr. Langhorst has no plans to

leave Canmore any time soon. “I’m happy

to stay right here, knowing that Canmore

is working to protect itself from things like

this in the future,” he says.

‘WE’RE GOING TO REBUILD’

A month before High River’s 13,000 resi-

dents were evacuated and the town became

a disaster zone, Reiley McKerracher, P.Eng.,

was at an open house helping unveil a new

flood model of the Highwood River.

The long-awaited model was to be the

first step in the town’s Flood Management

Master Plan, a strategy to limit the impact

of flooding from the Highwood River, which

cuts a meandering path through the centre

of town and has overflowed its banks four

times in the past 20 years.

Now it’s back to the drawing board as

High River rebuilds from the June 20 flood

that dumped billions of litres of water into

the community and left a wide swath of

destruction in its wake. “This kind of threw

a monkey wrench into everything,” says Mr.

McKerracher.

As the town’s engineering manager,

he helped oversee a dewatering process,

which had officials fighting for days and

weeks to drain contaminated flood water

from hundreds of swamped homes and

businesses.

He was at a workshop in Calgary when

the flooding began. “Things were moving

very fast,” he says. “The flood came in a

lot faster than expected. In past events,

particularly ’95, ’05, and ’08, the river gave

us quite a bit of warning. It came up slowly,

and it was something we were prepared

for. In this case, it came in a matter of

hours and surprised everyone.”

HIGH RIVER BY THE NUMBERS

• Time for Highwood River to peak: 8.5

hours

• Width of river: 1.34 km (35 times its

usual width)

• Land inundated by water: 11.5 km2

(59 per cent)

• Town structures affected by water:

Up to 70 per cent

• Lift stations affected: 13

• Power lines/substations damaged: 5

per cent

• Communications infrastructure

damaged: 50 per cent

• Gas Lines Broken: 4


COVER

Hundreds of residents were trapped in their homes by the

creeping river and had to be rescued by motorboat, helicopter,

front-end loaders, combines and canoes. People watched as sub-

merged cars and trees floated down the streets. By 4:15 p.m. on

June 20, the town issued a mandatory evacuation order for all

13,000 residents. Water was up to six metres high in some areas.

“The amount of water we are talking about was just mind

boggling,” says Mr. McKerracher.

Much of the water drained on its own. But on the north side

of town, in the hardest hit communities of Hampton Hills, Sunshine

Meadows and Sunrise, the water had to be pumped out of the

streets and drained into the nearby Little Bow canal.

By Friday, officials started building berms at Second Avenue

and Highway 543 to try to speed up the pumping. The decision meant

floodwater from Sunrise drained into Hampton Hills, a move that

angered many residents.

In the end, massive industrial pumps were brought in to dry the

WATER BEGONE

On July 16, nearly one month after the flood hit High River, pumps were still sending

flood water into the town’s canal system. Riley McKerracher, P.Eng., oversaw

dewatering.


town out. By Sunday, a local oilfield contractor, Canadian Dewater-

ing, was onsite assembling several pumps, including three of the

largest in North America, with 24-inch intakes.

“To our knowledge, there are only four of these pumps in

Canada. Three of them were on site here in High River,” says

Mr. McKerracher. “Two of them came from a working job in Fort

McMurray. Suncor gave them up willingly to try and help us out.”

Getting the pump systems up and running took about a week

and a half, even with fusing crews putting pipe together 24 hours

a day. Once they were online, pumps at three different sites were

draining roughly 473,000 litres per minute into the canal at peak

capacity. From the Hampton Hills site alone, the pumps were

removing 300,000 litres per minute, or enough to fill an Olympic-

sized swimming pool every 10 minutes.

Sunshine was the first area dewatered, followed by Sunrise

and finally Hampton Hills — it took three weeks in total. One month

after the flooding, pumps were still removing 68,000 litres per

minute from a field north of town.

It was a long, challenging process, added onto other issues the

town was facing, including power outages, sewage backups, a boil

water advisory, and damage to its wastewater lift stations, roads,

bridges and river banks.

“I grew up here. I’ve worked for the town for roughly three and

a half years,” says Mr. McKerracher. “It was pretty rough to see

people you know well who have lost everything. A lot of people have

endured a lot of hardship. But we’re going to rebuild. We’ll try and

do it better.”

The town is seeking funding from the province for flood

mitigation projects to protect the downtown and northwest areas

of the community. Work could begin by mid-September and be

completed before winter. The plan is to repair and modify local

dikes and to build berms large enough to withstand a repeat of this

year’s flood. The town is still calculating just how large the event

was — all its gauge stations were washed out, so high water marks

are being used.

“We had originally designed everything to a one-in-100 event.

With this recent event, which dwarfed what we previously had

planned for, we have to change what we design for in the future,”

says Mr. McKerracher.

PLAN WITH CONFIDENCEBUILD WITH CONTROL

SMART SOLUTIONS

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COVER

‘Our Number One Concern Was Public Safety’Flooding takes a huge toll on transportation infrastructure, but reopenings are quick and plentiful

Five days into the flooding, near the intersection of the Trans-Canada

and Highway 56, the Crowfoot Ferry seemed ready to break loose

and perhaps even take out a dam. Docked along the Bow River, one

of its cable towers had collapsed. The only thing holding the ferry in

place was the Caterpillar D7 bulldozer it was anchored to.

“The whole area of the river crossing had become a gigantic

lake, and our ferry was floating in the middle of the lake,” recalls

Fred Lee, P.Eng., who helped coordinate emergency flood response

for Alberta Transportation in the province’s southwest region.

“We were really worried that the ferry would break off and hit the

Bassano Dam about 12 kilometres downstream.”

A military dive team was sent in to assess the situation. The

team gave the word: all clear, the dozer would hold.

On to the next issue.

Rising water, washouts and slides had already forced the

closure of numerous roads and bridges. “Our number one concern

was public safety. We didn’t want people getting stranded or hurt,”

says Mr. Lee, who worked closely with highway maintenance

contractors and municipalities.

Among the many challenges on his plate during the crisis were

• Trans-Canada Highway by Canmore washed out by Cougar

Creek

• Highway 1A cut open to divert flood water away from Exshaw

• The entire Sheep River Bridge at Highway 22 nearly covered in

water, its road abutments washed away

• A 600-metre section of Highway 758 lost to the Elbow River

• Huge chunks missing from bridges on Highway 66 and 40.

And that’s just a partial list.

As flood waters receded, the focus shifted from response to

recovery. Opening the Trans-Canada was at the top of Mr. Lee’s

to-do list. “At one point we had 24 pieces of heavy equipment

operating there,” he says. “We had the highway reopened in six

days. A lot of people said it would take a month to repair, but we got

CONTINUED ON PAGE 80 ››


COVER

WASHED AWAY

After parts of the Trans-Canada Highway were washed out, restoring the

major route became a top priority for Alberta Transportation. Crews had the

highway reopened to two-way traffic within six days; at one point, 24 pieces of

heavy equipment were on-site fixing the damage.

-photo courtesy Jacob Johnson, C.E.T., Town of Canmore

“ We had the highway

reopened in six days.

A lot of people said it

would take a month

to repair, but we got

all our people out

there, came up with

solutions and acted

on them right away.”FRED LEE, P.ENG.Flood Responder for Alberta Transportation


COVER

Top-Notch Water Treatment Proves its Worth

Chocolate milk — those are words Dan Limacher,

P.Eng., uses to describe the Bow River in Calgary at

the peak of the flooding. Yet in the midst of the crisis,

the city was able to continuing turning that chocolate

milk into clean, safe drinking water for its 1.1 million

residents. How did the city do that?

Silt, mud and organic debris washed down from the mountains

during the June floods, creating challenges for water treatment

across southern Alberta. The Province of Alberta’s water

infrastructure was significantly impacted, with damage to more

than 50 dams, canals, water and wastewater treatment plants,

wells, fish hatcheries and other waterworks systems.

Municipalities were slammed, too. In Black Diamond, the water

treatment plant was destroyed. Boil water orders were issued

in several communities where systems simply couldn’t keep up,

including Canmore, High River and Exshaw.

Noticeably absent from the boil water list is Calgary.

Dan Limacher, P.Eng., Calgary’s director of water services,

was among many city and other officials keeping a close watch on

the Bow and Elbow rivers. The city has two water treatment plants.

The Bearspaw, on the Bow, produces two-thirds of its usable water,

and the Glenmore, on the Elbow, produces the rest.

“As we hit the morning of June 20, we knew that we were

going to see some really significant flows in both the rivers,” he

says. “We have about a 10-hour notice of what’s coming from

upstream, which allowed our plants to get ready for the increasing

flows and turbidity levels.”

Water clarity for raw Bow water deteriorated to 4,000

nephelo metric turbidity units, which is well beyond what the plants

usually treat. The seasonal norm is 10 NTUs — so turbidity was 400

times that. In winter, turbidity hovers at around one NTU.

‘THICK AND NASTY’

Mr. Limacher likened the Bow’s water to chocolate milk you’d

never want to drink. “It was really thick, nasty water to treat. If

you combine the organic level with the amount of silt, it was a

significant water treatment challenge we were faced with,” says

Mr. Limacher.

Peak river flows in Calgary were about four times higher

than during the last major flood, in 2005. On the Bow, water raged

by at 1,750 cubic metres per second; the normal for June is less

than 500 cubic metres per second. The Elbow River below the

Glenmore Reservoir moved at 700 m3/s; June levels are normally

around 150 m3/s.

DRINK UP, CALGARY

Dan Limacher, P.Eng., Calgary’s director of water services, holds treated water at the

Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant. Plant operators and engineers worked non-stop

during the flood to ensure the city’s supply of safe drinking water carried on.



Fortunately, the city’s water treatment infrastructure is state-

of-the-art. Major upgrades were completed at Bearspaw in 2007,

followed by similar ones at Glenmore in 2011. Both projects resulted

in big improvements to the water treatment process. Calgary Mayor

Naheed Nenshi told reporters that those infrastructure investments

are what prevented boil water advisories and major water restric-

tions in the city.

Mr. Limacher agrees. “The really big story is that we have

really remarkable pre-treatment facilities at both the Bearspaw and

Glenmore water treatment plants,” he says. “Professional engineers

were hugely involved in the design and construction of these

fantastic facilities, and we had city engineers involved, as well,

working with operators to address significant treatment challenges

during the crisis itself.”

Both plants were able to handle the enormous load of silt and

organics entering the system. “We had to slow the plants down a

little bit, but they made water that was easily within our drinking

water guidelines. Even at 4,000 NTU coming in, we were still

making water at 0.05 NTU,” says Mr. Limacher.

Calgarians were asked restrict their water use for a week due

to the reduced output. “We asked for citizens’ help with the water-

use restrictions, and they responded terrifically,” says Mr. Limacher.


COVER

all our people out there, came up

with solutions and acted on them

right away.”

Damage to Alberta Transporta-

tion’s road and bridge infrastructure

is still being tallied. Thirty major

bridges require significant repairs,

plus numerous smaller ones. Many are now open but require fur-

ther work, while others remain closed.

Sections of highway totalling about 985 kilometres were closed

due to flood damage, which ranged from complete highway wash-

outs to bridge damage and destruction. By mid-August traffic had

returned to 830 kilometres of highway, although much repair work

continues.

“This is totally unprecedented. We’ve never seen anything like

this,” says Mr. Lee. “We’re actually pretty happy that everything

stood as well as it did and we were able to repair most of the

damage within about three weeks.”

MEANWHILE BACK IN CALGARY

Craig MacFarlane, P.Eng., chief structures engineer with the City

of Calgary, was busy keeping a close eye on the city’s 24 vehicle

bridges, three C-Train bridges and 25 pedestrian bridges, which, in

a normal situation, allow cars, trains and people to safely cross the

Bow and Elbow rivers.

“I was coordinating a lot from my car, out in the field. For the

first week of the event we were inspecting all of our river bridges

daily,” he says. “Personally, I’ve experienced a few floods, but

nothing to this extent. I was sure glad we had our bridge resources

coordinated ahead of time and everybody available on a moment’s

notice to go out and inspect structures.”

About 10 Professional Engineers and two technicians were

doing inspections. Road maintenance workers and Calgary police

were calling in reports on rapidly changing river conditions.

“With high water levels, there’s only a limited amount of the

bridge you can see. We were watching to ensure the water and

debris didn’t come up onto the superstructure — the deck — because

it isn’t designed to take stream flow or debris,” says Mr. MacFarlane.

Another concern was the potential for scour or settlement.

Scour happens when fast water washes away gravel around bridge

abutments or piers. When the Bonnybrook rail bridge over the Bow

River buckled on June 27 and caused six tanker cars to derail,

engineers with Canadian Pacific Railway said the cause was scour

from flood waters. CP inspects its own bridges and didn’t detect any

problems above the water.

But for the city’s bridges, scour didn’t cause issues, says

Mr. MacFarlane. “All of our bridges are either founded directly on

bedrock or on piles going into bedrock,” he explains.

In fact, all the city’s traffic bridges remained structurally safe

throughout the flooding. “We didn’t have any bridges that were

in any structural distress, apart from the three small pedestrian

bridges on the Elbow River that were completely destroyed by the

high water,” says Mr. MacFarlane. Another six pedestrian bridges

suffered minor damage.

Several traffic bridges were closed at the height of the crisis,

but that was primarily because adjacent roads were flooded, or

because officials wanted to limit access into areas such as the

downtown, parts of which were under water.

The only major washout was at Scollen Bridge, which connects

the Mission and Erlton communities. Debris caught on the piers,

forcing the Elbow River to flow around it. Other damage included

a few sinkholes around some bridge abutments and some bank

erosion.

Several weeks after the flood, precautionary bridge inspections

continued. The city initiated a scour study to map the new

topography of river bottoms. There were also plans to send in an

underwater diver to inspect bridge piers once water levels dropped.

As for the city’s roads, about 20 kilometres of blacktop was

damaged, costing $25 million to repair.

HIGH AND FAST

The Bow River rushes over a walkway near

the Centre Street Bridge in Calgary during the

June flooding, the speed of the flow character-

ized by the photographer’s use of a slow shut-

ter speed. The lower car deck of the bridge

was flooded, but the iconic landmark remained

structurally sound.

-photo by Ryan L. C. Quan

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 76 ››


COVER

“It’s actually holding up pretty well.”

Those were Mark Schuh’s thoughts on the

evening of June 19 as he checked the new

armouring along Cougar Creek, installed

by the town the previous fall. Rain was

pouring hard and the creek, normally dry,

was coming to life.

The 22-year-old was weeks away

from wrapping up a 12-month intern-

ship with the Town of Canmore. Soon

Mr. Schuh, a University of Calgary civil

engineering student, would be thrust into

a natural disaster, receiving a level of

internship he could barely have imagined

only hours earlier.

He awoke on June 20 to learn that a

state of emergency had been declared and

that residents in his Cougar Creek neigh-

bourhood were being evacuated. “When I

walked down to the creek to check it out,

the first thing I saw was those backyards

getting washed away,” says Mr. Schuh.

The armouring, needless to say, was

long gone.

His own basement suite on Moraine

Lake Road wasn’t affected. Mr. Schuh

grabbed food and a sleeping bag before

being bused to the local high school,

then walked to the town’s emergency

operations centre to see how he could

help. He was quickly put to work

patrolling flood sites that were stable but

needed monitoring.

“I made the rounds and reported back

where and when we might need resources

— equipment and people. Riprap here,

sandbags there. What can we do for this

person? Things of that nature, nothing

major,” he says. “It was pretty non-stop

for those two or three days.”

Among the lessons he learned during

the crisis were the importance of clear,

concise communication, and how to think

fast on your feet.

“Everywhere I went people were

asking questions and wanting information,

wanting to show me what their house was

“I made the rounds and reported

back where and when we might need

resources — equipment and people.

Riprap here, sandbags there. What can

we do for this person? Things of that

nature, nothing major. It was pretty

non-stop for those two or three days.”

MARK SCHUHUniversity of Calgary Engineering Student

Flood Disaster Work Experience: Be In Flood, Get to WorkInternships help students put what they learn in the classroom into practice in the real world. For University of Calgary civil engineering student Mark Schuh, that happened in a big, wet and devastating way. And what he learned from the experience is something you can’t get from a textbook

like. It was almost like triaging where I

needed to be and what resources needed

to be where,” says Mr. Schuh. “It was

definitely a unique learning experience,

obviously not something you can find in a

classroom.”

Now in his fourth year at the U of C

with a minor in structural engineering,

those lessons will be invaluable as he

advances his career. “I think it’s definitely

something I can draw on and keep in

mind, now that I’ve seen firsthand the

force of nature and just how quickly

things can get out of hand.”


COVER

Across Alberta, municipalities

and expert panels are exploring

flood mitigation solutions to

protect people and property from

the impacts of extreme weather.

APEGA Members are at the

forefront of the discussions and

debate. When the next big flood

hits, will Alberta be ready?

A few days after the flooding began, some

former geoscience students of Dr. Jerry

Osborn, P.Geol., struck up a conversation

on Facebook. It went along the lines of:

“Remember how Dr. Osborn said the big

one is coming and we didn’t believe him?

Remember how we had to do that lab,

predicting the 100-year flood extent, and

it seemed so big we didn’t believe it? We

should have listened.”

Dr. Osborn, P.Geol., a professor in the

Department of Geoscience at the University

of Calgary, certainly wasn’t surprised by the

flood’s magnitude. There have been floods

of similar size in the not-so-distant past,

and he has no doubt they will happen again.

In fact, he says, there’s an increased risk

due to climate change and the potential for

bigger, longer-lasting storms.

“We have a history of big floods on

the Bow River. In the past 130 years, we’ve

had four floods of a similar magnitude, or

bigger, than this last one,” says Dr. Osborn.

“The two biggest floods, in 1879 and 1897,

were only 18 years apart, so there’s no

reason to assume that it’s going to be a long

time until the next one.”

As a Professional Geologist, he’s also

not surprised by the destruction along

Cougar Creek in Canmore, where raging

floodwaters swiftly eroded creek banks

and damaged 120 homes along the creek’s

edge. The reason: the houses were built

on an alluvial fan, a cone-shaped sediment

deposit often found at the mouth of canyons

or gullies. Normally dry, alluvial fans are

Managing the Risks

characterized by flash flooding from storms

or spring run-off. The fast moving water

has a tendency to sweep back and forth

along the fan, carving new, wider channels

in order to carry large volumes of gravel

and debris being washed down the valley.

“Instead of rising and overtopping its

banks, it just makes new banks. Unlike a


TWISTER

Dean Hagen, with the Calgary Transit Track and Way Department, assesses the

twisted C-Train tracks near the Erlton/Stampede Station. Flooding from the Elbow

River mangled 100-metres of track and caused $8.2 million in damage, disrupting

service into the downtown core.

-photo courtesy City of Calgary

regular river, it just expands its channel,” says Dr. Osborn.

With flood risks now front and centre in the public eye, he’s

hopeful governments will take a more cautious approach when it

comes to development along waterways. In the three months since


COVER

the flood, many flood mitigation improvements have already been

announced and expert panels — which include several APEGA

Members — have been established by municipalities and the provin-

cial government to investigate a plethora of options.

In mid-July, the province announced it will ban new develop-

ment in floodways — the flood hazard area where flows are the

fastest and most destructive. The government has also offered to

buy about 250 southern Alberta homes located in floodways, even

if they weren’t damaged in June.

Homeowners living in the flood fringe — where floodwater

is generally shallower and the flow slower — will be eligible for

disaster recovery funding to help them pay for flood proofing. This

could include berms or raising the house higher off the ground.

Those who don’t install flood proofing won’t be eligible for disaster

relief in any future flood.

The province has also appointed a community advisory panel

that will make recommendations on future flood protection and

prevention solutions. The panel includes Allan Markin, P.Eng.,

whose home in Calgary was badly damaged by flooding. He’s

president of AMP Financial Inc. and past chair of Canadian Natural

Resources Ltd. Also on the panel is Tino DiManno, P.Eng., a senior

vice-president with Stantec Consulting.

Andre Corbould, P.Eng., Chief Assistant Deputy Minister of the

Southern Alberta Flood Recovery Task Force, says many questions

need to be answered.

“Are there lessons learned based on what happened? Are there

ways that we can control the water? Do we need to consider greater

levels of mitigation, whether it be dams or bridges or floodways,

to help prepare for this type of thing?” says Mr. Corbould. “Our job

is to work together with municipalities to figure out what we can

implement immediately, and what may take a little more engineering

or consideration to do in the future.”

Some work has already begun. In High River, for example, the

province has hired a consultant to begin scraping the Highwood

River to increase the river’s flow.

Mr. Corbould says the community advisory panel will take up

where the 2006 Provincial Flood Mitigation Report left off. That

report was written by former Highwood MLA George Groeneveld

after flooding in 2005 killed three people and caused $400 million

in damage. The report made 18 recommendations and called on the

province to spend more than $300 million on flood mitigation in 54

municipalities, including many of those that were flooded in June. It

also called for a ban on development in flood plains.

The province has been criticized for failing to act on the rec-

ommendations, but Mr. Corbould says many of the recommenda-

tions were implemented or were in progress when the flooding hit

in June.

“We’re taking up where that left off, in many ways. But this

year’s event was much bigger than the 2005 floods, so we’re also

looking at it from first principles as well. We’re opening everything

up,” he says.

The province will be working closely with municipalities like

Calgary, High River and Canmore, which have set up their own flood

mitigation panels. In Canmore, the town approved the Mountain

Creek Flood Mitigation Plan, designed to help spread a better under-

standing of how mountain creeks behave, and to identify steps to

reduce further property loss though mitigation projects. High River

is seeking funding from the province for immediate flood mitigation

ALL TOGETHER NOW

Residents pile sand bags along the South Saskatchewan River in Medicine Hat on June

23 to protect infrastructure from rising water. More than 7,000 residents were evacuated

from their homes and initial damage in the community is pegged at $72 million.

-The Canadian Press/Nathan Denette


COVER

projects, including berms and dike improve-

ments, and discussions are ongoing for

long-term projects.

In Calgary, a four-member panel of

experts has been struck to help identify

ways to protect people and property from

future flooding. Darrel Danyluk, P.Eng.,

FEC, FCAE, a past APEGA president, was

selected to sit on the committee, along with

Dr. Steve Hrudey, P.Eng., a current APEGA

Councillor.

WHAT ENGINEERS SHOULD DO

Mr. Danyluk says the panel is a positive first

step to finding solutions. But all Profes-

sional Engineers who design infrastructure

projects — including buildings, roads, utili-

ties and storm water systems — have a role

to play in flood mitigation, he says.

From Far and WideAfter the June floods, Professional

Engineers arrived in Alberta from across

the country to provide assistance and

expertise.

Micheka Kostyniuk, P.Eng., was one of

them. A forensic engineer with Caskanette

Udall Consulting Engineers in Kitchener,

Ont., she arrived in High River in early

July and spent two weeks doing struc-

tural inspections on deluged commercial

and condominium properties. Licensed in

Alberta, she was assessing on behalf of

a major insurance company processing

claims in High River.

She’s worked in disaster zones

before — her company was involved in the

Goderich, Ont., tornado in 2011. But this

was the first time she’s seen flood damage

on such a massive scale.

Ms. Kostyniuk examined about 15

buildings during her time in the community.

Most of them held up well, and she found

little in the way of major structural damage.

The floods were a learning experi-

ence. “The most interesting thing to me

was learning how pre-engineered joists

hold up in flood conditions,” she says. “We

had a lot of discussions with manufactur-

ers about how long they can be underwa-

ter. We’ve seen joists that have been wet

and dried out before, but we’ve never seen

the pre-engineered joists that have been

submerged for two or three weeks con-

stantly. There was some damage, but most

of them held up fairly well.”

She credits cleanup crews of vol-

unteers with making her job easier, by

clearing out debris and drywall. “They got

everything torn out and I was able to get in

quickly,” says Ms. Kostyniuk.

Void mapping was also required on

one of the properties she examined, where

there were concerns of an underground

sinkhole beneath the building. Ground

penetrating radar determined everything

was OK.

She’s hopeful the business owners

are able to reopen soon. “We’ve seen God-

erich rebuild and they’re doing fabulous.

They rebuilt quicker than we anticipated,

so hopefully southern Alberta can, too.”CONTINUE ON PAGE 87 ››


What the Bedrock SaysUniversity of Calgary geophysics students look to Bow River riverbanks to learn more about flooding

What can the bedrock along the Bow

River teach society about past — and

future — floods? A group of geophysics

students from the University of

Calgary’s Department of Geoscience

hopes to find out.

In August, 50 students took part in

a unique, two-week urban field school

to examine the geologic record of riv-

erbanks around the city’s Inglewood

Wildlands Park and Shouldice Park, two

areas flooded in June.

In a story on the U of C website,

Don Lawton, P.Geoph., a professor at the

university, says the June flooding was

a tremendous learning opportunity for

students. By figuring out what happened

in past floods, the students may be able

to predict the effects of future floods.

“This has given our students a once-

in-a-lifetime chance to participate in an

important research and training program

fueled by a tangible objective to better

understand the history of floods in the

Bow River, while also contributing to the

knowledge about the city’s river system,”

Dr. Lawton says.

Students conducted geophysical

surveys, including electric resistivity

imaging and seismic refraction surveys,

to create images of the subsurface

beneath the floodplains. Now that

they’re back in class, they’ll interpret

the field data and write a report on their

findings.

Field schools are a course require-

ment for geophysics students. They give

students a chance to use sophisticated

technology and put into practice the tech-

niques that they’ll use once they graduate

and get jobs in industry.

This was the department’s first

urban field school. Typically, the field

schools are held in the Rocky Mountains,

the Canadian Shield or the Prairies. The

City of Calgary granted the university

access to the parks for the research.

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COVER

“As engineers, what

can we do? We define

what the problem is, define

what level of protection to

mitigate against, and then

engineer solutions to do

that. Recognizing that there

is a problem is the obvious

first step,” he says.

Mr. Danyluk, a civil

engineer, is vice-president

of the World Federation of

Engineering Organizations

and chairs its engineering

and environment com-

mittee, which provides

recommendations on the

adaptation of civil infra-

structure to climate change

impacts and risks. He’s also

chair of the national Public

Infrastructure Engineering

Vulnerability Committee, a

project funded by Engineers

Canada and Natural Resources Canada.

Known as PIEVC, the committee has developed an assessment

tool to help experts — in particular Professional Engineers — evalu-

ate the vulnerability of infrastructure to extreme weather events. To

date, there have been more than 30 PIEVC assessments conducted

by municipalities across Canada, including Calgary and Edmonton.

“The reality is that the climate is changing,” he says. “We’re

seeing more extreme weather. We’re seeing bigger events, com-

bined events, which are causing our infrastructure to be vulnerable

to failure. We can’t say there’s a standard pattern now.”

Currently, infrastructure is designed to codes and standards

based on historic weather data that has been fairly benign, says Mr.

Danyluk. But the changing climate is exposing Canada’s infrastruc-

ture to impacts it wasn’t originally designed for, he says. Moving

forward, professionals need to consider new design and operational

practices to withstand these new weather conditions.

“We can’t wait for the standard to change. We must consider

whether or not there are climatic events that should be taken into

account today. If you’re building a new facility or you’re rehabilitat-

ing existing infrastructure, it’s best to ask the question: Are there

climatic criteria here that we should consider in our new design or

in our upgrade? It’s no-regrets action,” says Mr. Danyluk. “Engi-

neers need to take leadership on this and can do so by doing climate

risk assessments in their work.”

DOZENS OF EXPERTS,DOZENS OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Both Mr. Danyluk and Dr. Hrudey also participated in the

development of a white paper called The 2013 Great Alberta Flood:

Actions to Mitigate, Manage and Control Future Floods. Released

Aug. 2 by Alberta

WaterSMART, it gathered

the contributions of dozens

of experts — Professionals

in Engineering and

Geoscience, ecologists,

business leaders,

researchers, policy

analysts and others —

and it contains dozens of

recommendations on how

to manage, mitigate and

control future floods and

severe droughts.

“The purpose of our

work is to provide a road

map looking forward, to

inform the discussions

underway in committee

rooms across the province,”

says Kim Sturgess, P.Eng.,

founder and CEO of

WaterSMART, which has

spent the past eight years

working on water management in the Bow and South Saskatchewan

river basins. “Where do we go from here to make sure we don’t run

into this problem again? What actions need to be taken to mitigate

this the next time around?”

Many of the contributing experts were on hand at the Cana-

dian Water Summit in Calgary on June 27. At the time, the city was

still mopping up from the flood waters. Summit organizers quickly

changed the day’s program to focus on flood solutions. The ideas

that emerged were the beginning of the white paper, which contin-

ued to evolve over the next four weeks.

Ms. Sturgess says the final recommendations are logical,

science-based actions that can be taken to strengthen the

province’s capacity to respond to natural disasters. They can be

summarized in six general tasks, which are that society should

• anticipate and plan for more extreme weather events, including

flood and drought

• improve the province’s operational capacity to deal with

potential extreme weather scenarios through better modeling

and data management

• investigate the cost/benefit balance of investing in physical

infrastructure

• consider flood risks in municipal planning and strengthen

building codes for new flood plain development

• evaluate options for overland flood insurance

• manage water resources collaboratively.

ACTING WITH THE WHOLE IN MIND

Ms. Sturgess says it’s important that any flood mitigation work

takes into account the river system as a whole. “A berm placed

BRIGHT LIGHTS

Volunteers and family clean out Linda Clarke’s flooded basement in Sunrise, the second commu-

nity to be drained after flooding in High River. Crews were allowed into the home on July 16.

-photo courtesy David Richeson


COVER

Wood Buffalo Cleanup ContinuesWood Buffalo was just starting to recover

from its worst flooding in decades when

the media spotlight shifted south to what’s

being dubbed the Great Alberta Flood. But

just like southern Alberta, the northern

municipality is still putting itself back

together, months later.

Flooding began June 10 in the Anzac

area, after the region was drenched with up

to 180 millimetres of rain over four days.

High, fast-flowing waters began to ravage

Fort McMurray a day later, resulting in a

week-long, local state of emergency.

Damaged public infrastructure includes

roads, bridges and trails, as well as water,

sanitary and storm systems. The initial

estimate of the cost of the damage, for public

infrastructure only, is around $35 million,

says Joseph Zachariah, the municipality’s

flood recovery project manager.

The municipality is hiring engineering

consultants to determine the best strat-

egy for repairs. “We are trying our best to

recover everything back to pre-flood condi-

tions. There are no safety concerns now

but there is some inconvenience,” he says.

Back in June, 400 to 500 people

were placed under mandatory evacuation

in the Grayling Terrace, Draper Road and

Waterways residential areas, after rapidly

rising water on the Hangingstone River

eroded slopes and shorelines. Waterways

and Draper residents were also faced

with a boil water order after waterworks

infrastructure was damaged.

Flooding in the Anzac area forced the

closure of Highway 881, and a section of

Highway 63, about 30 kilometres south

of Fort McMurray, was impassable for

a short time. Two major parks were

flooded and remained closed when The

PEG went to press. Representatives of the

Syncrude Sport and Wellness Centre said

six centimetres of water made it onto the

main floor. About 100 kilometres north of

Fort McMurray, north and south approaches

to the Firebag Bridge were washed out,

stranding 60 backcountry campers until

crews could stage a rescue.

In early July, the provincial govern-

ment announced the Wood Buffalo Disaster

Recovery Program, part of the $1 billion in

flood recovery funding promised after the

destruction in southern Alberta. Home-

owners and businesses with uninsurable

damage can apply to the program for relief.

As the recovery and rebuilding

continues, the municipality is undertaking

studies to determine long-term repairs

and flood protection measures for the

future, said Mr. Zachariah. The studies will

complement flood protection strategies

already included in Fort McMurray’s City

Centre Area Redevelopment Plan. Some

strategies have already been incorporated,

such as an elevated roadway along the

shoreline of the Clearwater River.

on a river may save one property but cause significant issues for

another property. You have to understand what those impacts are.

Things that are done in the City of Calgary have a huge impact

downstream. It’s one river system, one watershed, and you need to

look at your actions within a watershed,” she says.

It will also be important to analyze the cost of hard engineering

— dams, canals, diversions and the like — against benefits and risks.

“One of our recommendations is to use modeling to assess

the various investments in infrastructure and what their impacts

will be,” says Ms. Sturgess. “We want to make sure that the

money is spent in the best way possible. And we want to try and

avoid having an impact on the natural infrastructure. Any time

you start interfering with the natural flow of the river, you start

having unintended consequences. Having a look at low-impact

developments would be extremely helpful, rather than immediately

diving into the big, hard solutions.”

Low-impact solutions could include improvements to wetlands

and riparian areas, which could be used as natural water storage

areas. “The point is to use as much of the natural infrastructure as

you can,” she says.

APEGA has also been involved in the flood mitigation

conversation. CEO Mark Flint, P.Eng., was part of the Engineering

Working Group which provided input for the WaterSMART white

paper. “As a professional association, we have a responsibility to

lead,” says Mr. Flint.

The association’s Practice Standards Committee is also

looking at producing practice standard guidelines for flood

mitigation to support members in their professional practice.

“We are looking at our practice standard guidelines to see if

there are recommendations we can put together to provide some

guidance to our professions,” Mr. Flint says. “What should we be

thinking about and looking at, as professionals, when creating

flood mitigation designs? Guidelines can help us shape the way we

approach the design process.”

SIDEBAR

WEATHER AHEAD

By 2050, Alberta will see a 10 to 15 per cent increase in

extreme rainfall events as average annual temperatures in

the province rise by 2 to 4 C. So predicts a June 2012 study

prepared by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction for

the Insurance Bureau of Canada.

The bureau notes that over the past four years, severe

storms, fires and flooding in Alberta caused an average of $670

million in damage. That compares to an average of $100 million

annually over the past 15 years.

apega flood report

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