Southern Alberta is flooding… again!

As of this writing, the Weather Network is reporting 72 mm of rain has fallen in Lethbridge, 59 mm in Milk River, and 119 mm in Waterton Park. Another storm system is coming from the east which will likely drop another 100 mm in Pincher Creek and 80 mm in Lethbridge.  The M.D. of Willow Creek, County of Lethbridge, Cardston County, and the towns of Coalhurst and Coalhurst have declared states of emergency.

We hope everyone is safe and that property damage is minimal during this flood event.

Last year’s event was concentrated in Canmore and Kananaskis, which saw about 300 mm of rain over a span of about 3 days. While we are not likely to see as much rain, it is falling on a much more developed area, and Counties, towns and cities will be affected. Early indications are that this event is concentrated in the Waterton Park / Pincher Creek area.

Although the 2013 flood was the most expensive in Alberta’s history, this had much to do with the flood wave having gone through downtown Calgary. The 1995 flood was probably worse from the point of view of the area affected and amount of rainfall, but it affected only rural southern Alberta. At that time, piles of gravel were dumped on the Highway 3 (Crowsnest Trail) bridge in Lethbridge in order to save it. It was saved, but just barely. Here is a picture:

01074_1995-1

Highway 3, Oldman River bridge in Lethbridge during the 1995 flood.

Roseke Engineering is a local, Lethbridge based engineering firm specializing in bridges, culverts, and drainage work. We repaired many bridges, culverts, and other drainage structures in 2005 and 2013. Please give us a call for a free inspection. Call Bernie at (403) 393-6170.

Speak Your Mind

*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.