Does High River Need a Floodway?

[dmuzika]

In looking at the devastation of High River, where the entire town had to be evacuated and a yet-to-be determined amount of homes and businesses will be condemned, I was thinking about the possibility of a floodway.

Should or could a Winnipeg-style floodway be constructed around High River so that the Highwood could bypass the town? This year was exceptional in terms of the magnitude of the flood, however High River is no stranger to flooding. The terrain immediately around High River seems comparatively flat.

Any thoughts?

[Canadian Mind]

It's called High River for a reason, which the current residents were painfully reminded of. That being said, maybe something will be done.

What do you mean by a floodway? Like a dyke system?

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by dmuzika

Should or could a Winnipeg-style floodway be constructed around High River so that the Highwood could bypass the town?

Wow. Build a town by a river, and then spend money to divert the river around the town.

I have no further comment on your suggest.

[Calgarian]

I think this is a must, we can't have the damn place flood every couple years and do nothing. What a stupid place to build a town!

[Doug]

Or a dam on the Highwood. The additional storage could support increased population and irrigation.

That alone may not be enough. High River already has a dike system but given the magnitude of water that rushed through during flash floods, maybe a floodway would also help. I suspect expropriating land for a floodway would be very expensive given the amount of exurban development around there.

[dmuzika]

Originally Posted by Canadian Mind

It's called High River for a reason, which the current residents were painfully reminded of. That being said, maybe something will be done.

What do you mean by a floodway? Like a dyke system?

I was thinking more of a canal that could serve as a bypass the town - similar to some of the irrigations canals that are in southern Alberta. The only difference is that it could either rejoin the Highwood River east of High River or flow directly into the Bow (the Highwood is a tributary of the Bow).

Originally Posted by suburbia

Wow. Build a town by a river, and then spend money to divert the river around the town.

I have no further comment on your suggest.

We don't have the ability to go back into time and build the town somewhere else - it is where it is. Are you saying the town should be leveled and reconstructed on higher ground?

Originally Posted by Doug

Or a dam on the Highwood. The additional storage could support increased population and irrigation.

That alone may not be enough. High River already has a dike system but given the magnitude of water that rushed through during flash floods, maybe a floodway would also help. I suspect expropriating land for a floodway would be very expensive given the amount of exurban development around there.

Granted a dam wouldn't have helped High River this time, but it might for lesser floods. I've read that Calgary used to flood a lot more along the Bow until the Ghost and Bearspaw dams were build. As for expropriation, this would be the time to do it as most of the development is either destroyed or compromised.

[Chadillaccc]

I think we should be looking at more of a small-scale diversion very much like the one in Portage la Prairie which has saved that city on numerous occasions

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Chadillaccc

I think we should be looking at more of a small-scale diversion very much like the one in Portage la Prairie which has saved that city on numerous occasions

A diversion to where? The one in Portage diverts the Assiniboine northwards into Lake Manitoba.

[Chadillaccc]

Hmmm, I dunno

[RWin]

Originally Posted by dmuzika

We don't have the ability to go back into time and build the town somewhere else - it is where it is. Are you saying the town should be leveled and reconstructed on higher ground?

This isn't a bad idea. It's pretty much been leveled any way. Towns have moved in the past for lesser reasons than that. Although a town of 13000 is pretty big.

If I was a resident there, I wouldn't wait from someone to tell me to move.