Alberta flood situation may stabilize

By Barb Glen
Lethbridge bureau

The flooding situation in southern Alberta isn’t expected to get much worse unless there is more rain than the 20 to 70 millimetres now in the forecast for the next 12 to 14 hours.
Evan Friesenhan, director of river forecasting, said that amount is forecast for areas south of Highway 5, and another 20 to 40 mm is forecast for areas south of the Bow River basin.

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As much as 200 mm had initially been forecast over a much wider area.
Water levels continue to rise in the Oldman River and nine communities remain in locally declared states of emergency. They include Claresholm, Coalhurst, Cardston, Coaldale, Blood Reserve, Medicine Hat, Crowsnest Pass, M.D. of Willow Creek and Lethbridge County.
Friesenhan said the Oldman River dam is functioning well, with plenty of capacity to handle additional rain and runoff. It is now discharging 750 cubic metres per second downstream.
River levels in Fort Macleod are expected to peak early tomorrow at 700 cms. Lethbridge peak flow of 1,800 cms is expected Friday morning and Medicine Hat’s peak of 2,380 is expected Saturday.
To put that in more perspective, river flow through Lethbridge was 4,600 cms during the destructive 1995 flood, which was the worst in the city’s history.
And last year, peak flow in Medicine Hat was 5,300 cms.
Friesenhan said there is significant overland flooding across the south due to rainfall accumulation. Fields have been flooded and some secondary roads closed due to water flow.
The Crowsnest, Waterton and Belly rivers, as well as Willow Creek, have overflowed their banks, causing additional regional flooding.
Stephen Carr of the Alberta Emergency Management Agency said affected communities “are showing tremendous resilience,” and few have asked for additional assistance from the province.