Flood warnings downgraded in southern Alberta

Flood warnings in southwestern Alberta were downgraded to flood watches or high stream flow advisories on Monday as rain began tapering off and water levels started receding.

More than 55 millimetres of rain have fallen on Calgary and surrounding areas since Wednesday. Alberta Environment was expecting 20 to 50 millimetres more by late Monday.

Flood watches — meaning water levels were still rising and could overflow the banks — were in effect Monday around Calgary, High River, Black Diamond and Turner Valley along major waterways including the Bow River, the Elbow River and the Highwood River.

A local state of emergency was still in effect in High River Monday because of the remaining watch on the Highwood River, where the water crested at just under seven metres on Sunday.

The town of High River, south of Calgary, continued to ask residents to avoid using their sewage systems, doing laundry or running the dishwasher to minimize the stress on the system.

High River Mayor Les Rempel told CBC News that the town was caught off guard by the extent of the flooding, which exceeded the predictions, and town-supplied sandbags still needed to be filled. It's not practical to store them full because they can deteriorate and are difficult to move, he said.

Much of the town was protected from the floods by dikes, he said.

"Today, of course, much of the river's dropped down," he said. "But the river's still high, and I guess we're just hoping that the rains stay moderate through the week so we don't have another rise of the river."

The town planned to watch the weather throughout Monday and then re-evaluate the state of emergency, Rempel said.

"We're going to just wait out the weather for the day and see what happens and see if we can deal with the issues," he said.

In the bedroom community of Okotoks, the state of emergency was lifted Monday morning. The status of the Sheep River had been downgraded to a flood watch, and the town's website said that "the river flows continue to drop slowly and the flooding into Sheep River Park is slowly receding."

Residents and businesses in low-lying areas were still being urged to move valuables to higher ground, though residents said evacuations were not necessary.

The river, which had swollen from its normal depth of roughly 60 centimetres to crest at just above three metres, was still travelling quickly early Monday at a depth of roughly two metres, churning up the riverbed and carrying along fallen trees and debris.

Meanwhile, the City of Calgary deactivated its Municipal Emergency Plan and closed the Emergency Operations Centre for the Elbow River high water warning at about 7:30 a.m. MT, shortly after announcing the closure of the Glenmore Reservoir for recreational boaters because of the high water.

Paul Fesko, the manager of strategic services for the city's water resources division, told CBC News the worst appears to be over.

"Most of the water that fell in the Elbow watershed has passed through our system," he said.

"What we have to do right now is to continue to monitor the upstream situation and the weather and see if that causes any change in our operational plans."

The levels will probably stay the same for the next day and a half, "so that we can get our reservoir levels back to where they should be at this time of year," he said.

Most of the calls from residents to the emergency centre were for minor seepage, he said. Approximately 2,000 sandbags were handed out, he also said.

Alberta Environment said that water levels at Fish Creek at Priddis and Jumpingpound Creek had already peaked Monday, as had waterways upstream of the Oldman Dam and Lee Creek.

In an advisory issued at 1:30 a.m. MT, the provincial environment monitor said that water levels near High River were receding after peaking early Sunday, while levels at the Elbow River at Bragg Creek and Threepoint Creek were also returning to normal.

The Sheep River, near Black Diamond, had almost returned to normal seasonal levels early Monday, and was expected to recede at Okotoks throughout the day.

Meanwhile, Alberta Environment said high streamflow advisories — meaning that stream levels are rising or expected to rise quickly without causing any major flooding — remained in place near Medicine Hat, Milk River, Fort MacLeod and Lethbridge.

"Precipitation in the United States is raising the levels in the Milk River," the warning said. "No major concerns are anticipated."

Streams entering the Oldman, Waterton and St. Mary reservoirs were either peaking or had peaked. Alberta Environment said the higher outflows from the Oldman and Waterton dams were steady and water levels would remain below the banks downstream.

Minor flooding was still possible, and Alberta Environment said anyone near the swollen streams should be cautious. 

Premier expects damage tally this week

Premier Ed Stelmach said he was worried about the rising waters and his officials have been tracking the situation closely.

"They've been keeping me updated all week long in terms of the river cresting, the number of homes that were, that could have been flooded, and some of the damages," he said. "But I didn't receive a full report."

He expects a full tally on the damages caused by the rising waters by the end of the week, he said.

"We'll investigate this particular flood and see what the damages were," he said. "There are rules, of course — what is insured and what isn't insurable — but I'll have to await the results of the full investigation by emergency management. "

Stelmach also said his officials will re-examine a government report from the 2005 floods, which caused more than half a billion dollars in damages across the province.

The report examined means to reduce flood damages and recommended cutting off government aid to properties built inappropriately in known flood plains.