Drumheller Flood Mitigation along Red Deer River Valley

in progress

The Drumheller Flood Mitigation and Climate Change Adaptation System combines long established structural features with policies and preparedness. The structural mitigation measures are rail embankments, provincial highways and bridges, provincial dyking, and existing municipal roads and trails with the natural systems of the badlands river valley topography, riparian areas, and flood plains to create a river confinement facility while providing room for the river at high flow. Operational measures, emergency preparedness, and policies are integral to create a Flood Mitigation System and strategy today - and well into the future to ensure adaptation to the changing climate and provide a truly resilient approach. Detailed flood control efforts conducted in the 1980s of structural and non-structural resiliency methods were incorporated, in part, to the community. Due to the Canada-Alberta funding stopping in the 1990s, some permanent structural measures were not completed. In terms of scope, new dykes will be constructed in selected critical areas to an elevation that protects against the 1640 cms river flow rate and existing dykes built by the province will be augmented to match this. The overall system is intended to provide a permanent solution that can adapt to climate change. The new dykes have been designed with resiliency in mind. In the future, they can be enhanced to withstand a higher flow of up to 2000 cms and the system will be integrated where practicable, with the Badlands River Park Trails System providing an opportunity to educate a flood resilient populace (also considering the 450,000 who visit Drumheller annually) through nodal kiosks stations. This system would be reinforced with river monitoring tools to support constant communications with the Town of Drumheller as well as the Dickson Dam to immediately execute any necessary emergency protocols and/or emergency dyke enhancements as events happen.