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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?
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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).
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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.
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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?
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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.
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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.