Calgary flood prevention plan includes Bow River fixes

Calgary officials have identified six critical areas along the Bow River that should be fixed before spring run-off to help prevent flooding.

Three of those riverbank erosion sites have already been repaired and three more will be starting shortly, officialssaid Monday during a news conference with the province on the ongoing work to protect against flooding in Calgary.

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"These are projects that are protecting the banks. The standard that we're building to is higher than existed before the [June flooding]event, so in a sense they are repair, but they're also mitigation that will impact the ability to withstand future events of a similar magnitude," said Gord Stewart, head of the city's flood recovery team.

Provincial officials are still looking at large mitigation projects, including a dry dam on the Bow River upstream of Calgary and a diversion tunnel that would help drain the Glenmore Reservoir into the Bow River downstream of the core area.

Calgary Emergency Management Agency director Bruce Burrellsays the city stillhas a lot of the equipment brought in during last spring's flood.

He says pumps and generators are on hand,but his advice for anyone who lives in a known flood zone is to start thinking now about how tobetter protect their property against spring flooding.