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Calgary lifts state of local emergency as weather forecast improves; berm to be removed

Calgary received just over 61 mm of rain over the past week and approximately 105 mm since the start of June

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The City of Calgary has lifted its state of local emergency as officials believe the latest weather system will track south of the city.

The emergency was declared on Monday in response to a three-day storm which dumped significant rainfall across Calgary as well as areas west of the city.

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I can tell you that we have rescinded just now the local state of emergency. The weather system that we were concerned about is expected to stay well south of us,” said Mayor Jyoti Gondek on Friday. ” I’d like to thank the experts from our water resources team for their outstanding work in service of Calgarians.”

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According to Environment Canada, Calgary received just over 61 mm of rain over the past week and approximately 105 mm since the start of June, causing high levels in both the Bow and Elbow rivers.

The City of Calgary closed several roads around the Elbow River and built a temporary berm on Memorial Drive to protect homes in the area. Gondek said a boating advisory remains on both the Elbow and Bow, and asked Calgarians to stay off the rivers.

The city will be removing the Memorial Drive berm over the weekend, and officials are asking people to avoid the area.

“We anticipate a return to standard traffic patterns by Monday morning at the latest, hopefully by Sunday if we can get the work done quickly,” said Gondek.

The berm cost the city about $115,000 to build; the final cost for its removal is not yet available.

Francois Bouchart, the city’s director of Water Resources, said rain is expected early next week, but it likely won’t be enough to cause flooding.

What we have been doing is working very closely with Environment and Climate Change Canada to track the system. It might simply hit the southeastern corner of our province,” said Bouchart. 

City officials warned that Calgary does remain in flood season and asked residents to remain ready.

Water levels are at normal or above normal for all major rivers in Alberta, according to the provincial government. The Pipestone River and the Little Red Deer River remain under a flood watch advisory, while a high streamflow advisory is in place for the Bow River from Banff all the way to the Saskatchewan border, which includes the city of Calgary.

dshort@postmedia.com

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