The ‘Elbow River Headwaters Flood Mitigations Proposals’ event was held at Redwood House April 16 and saw an impressive turnout of more than 80 Bragg Creek and area residents.
Co-hosted by the Elbow River Watershed Partnership (ERWP), the Town of Redwood Meadows and Rocky View County Division 1, the intent was to engage community members and stakeholders in a discussion about medium and long-term flood mitigation possibilities.
“We saw a need to inform the rural population along the Elbow River about what the recommendations are for potential flood mitigations in the Elbow River headquarters,” explained ERWP coordinator Flora Giesbrecht.
“There is a lot of information on this topic in Calgary, but not in the outlying communities, which were also greatly affected by the flood of 2013.”
Mike Murray is the program manager for the Bow River Basin Council and has been an eight-year board member with the ERWP.
“This was an opportunity for ERWP to hold a community event,” he said, emphasizing that many people affected by the 2013 flood have a lot of questions regarding short and long-term flood mitigation solutions.
Brad Stelfox of Alces Landscape and Land Use Ltd. — ‘A Comprehensive Approach to Flood Mitigation’, led the first presentation of the evening; due to time constraints, the focus of the evening was on medium and long-term mitigation solutions.
Murray said that he believes the province would require more time to develop and implement area-specific long-term mitigation solutions and those interested in learning more can attend a number of upcoming events, including a May 3 event featuring a number of guest speakers on ‘Our Elbow: Understanding and Respecting Our Local Waters’, which runs from 1-5 p.m. at Redwood House.
The Government of Alberta will be hosting a one-day symposium at the BMO Centre April 29 from 10 a.m.-3:30 p.m. to discuss progress and further improvements to prevent future floods and draught.
Giesbrecht encourages anyone interested in discussing the Elbow River Watershed to email her at [email protected].
