June rainfall, floods caused estimated $2.1M in damage in Canmore

The late June rainfall and resulting floods left about $2.1 million of damage in Canmore.

But the municipality should be able to avoid the lion’s share of the tab with the Alberta government’s Hazard Assistance and Resilience Program. The provincial grant could cover up to $1.9 million, while municipal reserves would pick up the rest.

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The once-in-50-year flood saw Canmore receive about 138 millimetres of rain in less than 24 hours on June 28 and 29, leading to damage to municipal infrastructure. The event cost about $232,000 to respond to, according to a staff report.

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Canmore Mayor Sean Krausert said the program is “incredibly helpful” since local taxpayers would otherwise pick up the tab.

“Communities just aren't structured to be able to handle these emergency costs themselves, especially if they’re successive events or major events,” he said.

Among the damage was warping of some concrete matting on both banks of Cougar Creek and gravel roads to the dam being washed out. There was debris caught behind the dam, which will need the roads rebuilt for excavators to access and remove it.

The damage from the June rainfall and flooding – seen here – is estimated to have cost about $2.1 million in damage to municipal infrastructure. A provincial grant program could cover up to 90 per cent of costs. (Photo submitted by Town of Canmore)

Caitlin Miller, the municipality’s manager of protective services and director of emergency management, said they regularly track potential hazards such as flooding, rainfall and fire.

She noted conditions at Cougar and Stoneworks creeks to the northeast of town “started to deteriorate very quickly.” It led to a state of local emergency being declared, potential evacuation alerts going out and one home being evacuated.

She said each weather event can be unique and veer away from initial plans.

“We really need to make decisions based on the circumstances we see in front of us with the data we have, which is why those monitoring points are so important,” she said.

Dam designed to ‘reduce the impact’

The massive rainfall and flooding was the first test of the Cougar Creek dam.

The municipality estimated 5,000 cubic metres of sediment and fallen trees were caught behind the dam.

“It would’ve been a much worse event if we did not have that structure in place,” Miller said.

During the 2013 floods, the debris that flowed into the townsite caused significant damage.

She cautioned it’s designed to mitigate damage to “reduce the impact" but "it doesn’t take away the impact.”

Zabrina Pendon, Canmore’s manager of engineering, said the dam “performed exactly as the engineer design intended.”

The municipality still has to be approved for the provincial costs, but Pendon said they’ve been in “close collaboration” and are “very confident” it will be approved after talks with the province.

Canmore is estimated to have had about $2.1 million in damage to municipal infrastructure from the June rainfall and flooding, as seen here. The provincial government's Hazard Assistance and Resilience Program could cover up to 90 per cent of costs. (Photo submitted by the Town of Canmore)

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This article, written by Greg Colgan, was originally published for CBC News.