Flood mitigation

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Working together for a flood resilient future

As recently as 2016, Edmonton has experienced significant flooding caused by large rainfall storms. The impacts of flooding to citizens, the environment, society and property are substantial.

Everyone has a stake in flood mitigation. Our plan envisions all stakeholders—citizens, businesses, industry, the City of Edmonton and EPCOR—working together to:

  • Identify areas of Edmonton that have the highest risk of impact from flooding
  • Engage the community to frame our plan around shared priorities
  • Build a plan to slow, move, secure, predict and respond to flood waters in the community
  • Empower home and property owners to help flood-proof private property

Clean​50 Award

EPCOR's flood mitigation efforts have been nationally recognized with a Canada's Clean50 Top Project Awardopens in a new tab, and a second for Individual Honouree. These awards highlight EPCOR's innovation and dedication to protecting customers and the communities they live in.

Types of flooding in Edmonton

There are two types of flooding that may occur in Edmonton:

Flooding from heavy rainfall events within the city. This happens when there is a large amount of rain in a short period of time within the city boundary that overwhelms the sewer network resulting in surface ponding and potential sewer backups.

Flooding from melting snowpack in combination with heavy rainfall across the North Saskatchewan watershed. When this happens, the river rises and may overtop its banks and move onto properties located along the banks of the river.

Public priorities for flood protection

Priorities for protecting against floods

In 2018, we engaged the public through a comprehensive survey to understand citizens' priorities for protecting against floods. The ranking model we're using is driven by this research. Based on Edmontonians' priorities, the higher risk areas that we're targeting are:

Impacts prioritized by public opinion

We're investing in flood-resiliency in areas with a high risk of flood impacts and targeting drainage improvements and homeowner programs to reduce the risk.

Our Flood Mitigation Plan

How we're reducing the risk of flooding

We've been active in addressing stormwater flooding in parts of Edmonton where there has already been significant flooding. For example, flood mitigation improvements in the Millwoods area are ongoing, and four dry ponds in Parkallen and Steinhauer/Erminskin are in development.

Future flood mitigation work will include a combination of homeowner programs, drainage system improvements, green infrastructure and planning. In addition, we're creating a smarter stormwater network that will allow us to anticipate and react to storms in real time using monitoring and control technology. 

Stormwater Integrated Resource Plan (SIRP)

Our Stormwater Integrated Resource Plan (SIRP) is a 20-year, $1.6-billion plan that includes five themes to SLOW, MOVE, SECURE, PREDICT and RESPOND to flooding in Edmonton neighbourhoods. This strategy addresses flooding risks from health and safety, environmental, social and financial perspectives. The plan is detailed in the May 2019 Utility Committee reportopens in a new tab.

What you can do to protect your home or business

Every Edmontonian has a stake in flood mitigation for our city. Beyond addressing risk, we have an opportunity to make our city stronger and greener, while protecting life and what matters most to us.

Our currently planned flood mitigation projects will take 20 years to complete — drainage projects are often complex and take time to design and construct. Where there is significant community impact we will be taking time to engage the community on the project options. However, you can take action to reduce your own flood risk today. We offer:

Did you know?

In the event of a severe flood from the river overtopping its banks, the City of Edmonton and Alberta Environment and Parks would activate their Emergency Operations Centre (EOC). EPCOR water, drainage and power utilities are part of this EOC and work together to take action to protect citizens and critical infrastructure in Edmonton.​

Next steps

We're proposing a capital and operational plan to the City of Edmonton's Utility Committee, and asking for the committee's feedback on our preferred timeline and approach.

Related documents

Questions?

Community involvement is integral to the flood mitigation process, which will evolve over time as we continue to get input. We commit to consulting with communities on flood mitigation options where projects could have significant impact.

Contact EPCOR

Phone: 780-412-4200
Email: epcorprojects​@epcor.com

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