Where there’s water, there’s risk: What you need to know prior to using Calgary’s rivers and waterways recreationally this long weekend

The City’s Partners in Water Safety (comprised of the Calgary Fire Department, the Calgary Police Service and Community Standards), encourages Calgarians to prioritize safety, and educate themselves and others, before going rafting or boating on a city waterway over the long weekend and duration of the warm weather months.

Your personal safety and the safety of others is paramount, and Partners in Water Safety urges all river users to proceed with caution and to know the risks before going on the water.

Anyone boating or rafting on a city river, lake or waterway should take the following actions:

1. Check for river safety advisories. The Calgary Fire Department issues river safety advisories when the conditions of the Bow and Elbow Rivers pose an elevated risk to river users. Also learn the river’s course to ensure you know of any heightened risks on your journey (for example, Harvey Passage remains closed at this time).
2. Ensure you have a properly fitting life jacket or personal flotation device for each individual utilizing the waterways recreationally. This is not only a bylaw requirement; it can save your life.
3. Understand the consequences of unsafe behavior. Being intoxicated and/or transporting alcohol on the water is illegal. Not only do you put yourself and others at risk; fines will be issued to those that that do not comply. Understanding the consequences of these actions for your personal safety is imperative.
4. Tell someone responsible where you are going and when you will return.
5. Prepare and carry an emergency kit on your boat or raft (anyone in a watercraft must not only wear a personal flotation device, but also have an emergency kit on board. Kit requirements include: a bailing device, a paddle, a sound signalling device and a buoyant tow line.)
6. Know the elements in advance: check Calgary weather conditions at Environment Canada.
7. Check river flow rates at Alberta River Basins for advisories and warnings, river ice reports, and more (or download the Alberta Rivers: Data and Advisories app)

Once you’ve done your homework, utilized the checklist above, and are ready to embark on a river or waterway, take the following measures from shore:

1. Scout the river for potential hazards
2. Assess the level of danger (also assess the swimming and paddling skills of your crew)
3. Decide if it is safe to raft or boat

Peace Officers and the Calgary Police Service will be out enforcing municipal bylaws and provincial statutes this weekend and over the course of the season. Any rafters practicing unsafe, illegal or disrespectful behaviours will be subject to fines. All Calgarians enjoying the rivers and waterways must do so cautiously and safely, while complying with city bylaws.

Flood Readiness & River Safety: Understand. Prepare. Stay Informed. Stay Safe.

With May long weekend known as Calgary's unofficial start to recreational water season and the risk of river flooding greatest between May 15 - July 15, we'd like to update Calgarians on flood readiness and also remind everyone of river dangers.



Understand
The City monitors river forecasts, soil moisture, rainfall and snow melt rates in the mountains. Current data shows mountain snowpack is at the low end of a normal range. Our 90 day precipitation is drier than average, but not rare. We could expect more precipitation between May and July due to El Nino.

New flood inundation maps and river flow triggers are available to help Calgarians understand their personal and business flood risks.

Prepare
The City is better prepared to manage and minimize the impacts of a future flood. We’ve developed a comprehensive plan that incorporates the recommendations of our Expert Management Panel, trained more people, stock piled materials, repaired eroded river banks, built temporary barriers and created new inundation maps.

Calgarians also play an important role in flood readiness and safety. Stay prepared, alert and at the ready by having an emergency plan and 72 hour kit.

Stay Informed
The City has tools and resources available to help Calgarians know their flood risk. Visit calgary.ca/floodinfo for the latest information including flood advisories. You can also subscribe to our weekly newsletter and download the Alberta Rivers: Data and Advisories mobile app.

Stay Safe
The City’s Partners in Water Safety want to remind all Calgarians where there’s water, there’s risk. Before hopping on boat or river raft:

• SCOUT the river for potential hazards,
• ASSESS the level of danger and,
• DECIDE if it’s safe to proceed.

Snowfall tree debris management

Recent snowfall has caused damage to many trees throughout the city, leaving tree debris on both private property and City property.

All three City landfills – Spyhill, Shepard and East Calgary – are accepting tree debris from the snowstorm at no charge until further notice. Customers arriving at the scalehouse should identify that they are bringing tree debris and must not mix the debris with any other waste material for it to be accepted free of charge.

Beginning Saturday, September 13, citizens can also access all 33 of The City's leaf and pumpkin drop-off locations to dispose of damaged tree limbs.

Alternatively, tree debris can be cut into 4-foot pieces in length and stacked beside waste and recycling carts to be picked up with regular collection or at a later date, depending on our resources.

To help keep regular garbage and recycling pickup on schedule, and to avoid damaging City equipment, we ask that Calgarians do not put tree debris in their blue, black or green carts.

Calgarians may notice a disruption with City services such as power outages in City facilities and delayed garbage and recycling collection due to tree debris blocking back lanes. We thank Calgarians for their patience as City crews work to manage all effects of the recent snowfall.

Please be safe as many drooping tree limbs still pose a safety threat. We continue to work on a debris management plan and will communicate with Calgarians later today how we will be proceeding. At this time, we are still focused on emergency response to fallen tree debris on roads and impacts from power outages throughout the city. Safety is our current priority.

Partners in River Safety say ‘stay safe and stay off rivers’

To ensure everyone is safe while enjoying our parks, rivers and waterways, there are still river advisories in effect for both the Bow and Elbow Rivers. 

“We advise that people continue to stay off of the rivers, as the water is still has poor visibility, making it dangerous for even experienced paddlers, kayakers and rafters,” said Deputy Chief Ken Uzeloc of the Calgary Fire Department (CFD).

“We do not want anyone to be harmed or to take unnecessary risks.”

Fast river flow and poor visibility

The advisories are in effect because of the many new and unknown hazards in and around the rivers which are a result of the 2013 flood. A second advisory was added by CFD a few weeks ago due to rainfall and melting snow pack which resulted in faster river flow and poor visibility. 

CFD Aquatic Rescue team members were on the river to show how difficult it is navigate the Bow with changes to the river flow caused by last year’s flood. The changed river flow now pushes boaters into the Louise Bridge pillar. 

More safety info on calgary.ca

For more information on river safety the Calgary Fire Department has information on safety in around our rivers and Animal & Bylaw Services has important tips for safe rafting.

CFD, Calgary Police Service (CPS) and Animal & Bylaw Services (ABS), make up Calgary’s Partners in River Safety. 

Submitted by: Bridget Cox, Calgary Fire Department