New software will give the Town of Okotoks a hint about where it could see the Sheep River spill its banks when water levels start to rise.
Scott Roberts, Okotoks protective services director, said the Town has new computer modelling software it can use to predict how a flood may affect different areas along the river valley.
The water levels in the Sheep River in the 2013 flood hit 940 cubic metres per second and he said the model allows the Town to see what areas could be inundated if even more water poured down the Sheep River.
“We can look at a flow rate of 1,000 cubic metres per second, 1,100, 1,200, 1,300 and have a better idea at least where the water is going to flow,” said Roberts. “From that we can extrapolate plans and how to manage our response, whether that be evacuation, how and where we’re going to evacuate and where we expect the water to go.”
The computer software was purchased using a provincial flood readiness grant after the 2013 floods. This is the first year the program has been available to the Town to use.
The model is based on topography of the land along the Sheep River and it covers the entire flood way and flood fringe areas for the river within town.
“We can put information into the software and it provides with an animation of where water would flow based on satellite telemetry and topography of our land,” said Roberts.
Most of the work repairing damage from the 2013 flood and improving flood response was completed last year and there isn’t much on the Town’s project list for 2016.
The Town has also acquired several new pieces of equipment and adjusted its response plans.
“It’s important as we encounter events like this that we look at where we can improve and I believe the Town has done that,” said Roberts. “We can look backwards and forwards, we’re in a much better place than we were in 2013. With the next event, we’ll learn from that as well.”
The Town has acquired new sandbagging equipment capable of filling as many as 1,600 sandbags per hour. It also has 1,000 feet of large, accordion-like bins that can be filled with sand using a front-end loader to quickly create temporary berms.
“Once that system is filled, it’s four-feet, by four-feet, by four feet,” said Roberts. “That’s a big amount of space.”
The Town has purchased a mobile command centre to deploy during emergencies. It can also be used as an information or gathering centre during community events such as the annual parade or Light Up Okotoks in November.
The Town’s plans include pre-deploying sandbags in the Lineham and Riverside areas as a precaution as soon as a flood watch is declared. He said the Town will have sandbags deployed sooner than they were in 2013 in the future.
“We realized in 2013 that they weren’t out soon enough, so they’ll be out sooner,” said Roberts.
The Town has pumps it can set up downtown just in case.
Mayor Bill Robertson said the Town applies lessons from flood it has experienced, including most recently in 2005, 2010 and 2013.
It is more prepared and it has a better understanding of what to expect.
“We can’t just sit back and say ‘Okay, we’re set,’” said Robertson. “There’s always something new, plus the next event could be much larger. We don’t know.”
He said the Town made improvements to the water treatment plant after a boil water advisory had to be implemented after the 2010 flood due to high levels of sediment in the river. The Town added a new filtration system capable of handling increased sediment.
Robertson said improvements to the Town’s water system survived the test of the 2013 flood.
He said the 2005 flood had a major impact in the community, flooding parts of the downtown area. In response, the Town began renting, and then purchased, large pumps to station in the downtown area.
Robertson said he believes the Town is well positioned to respond to another flood at the same levels as 2013.
“We’re always learning lessons from our community and from other communities,” he said.
