As Bow Valley residents continue the process of cleaning up, picking up pieces and putting lives back together after the disastrous flood in June, many questions remain as to what happens next.
While it’s great to see that many roads and trails in the area have re-opened, that flood remediation is under way in many areas and events like Canmore’s 24 Hours of Adrenalin and annual federal and provincial Parks Days events are forging ahead, even nearby Calgary’s Stampede was pulled off with few hitches, it’s clear that the final recovery from the massive flood remains in a state of flux.
For many people, recovery has occurred; those who suffered less damage to home, properties and businesses. But there are those, like some Cougar Creek residents in Canmore and the McGinns in Lac Des Arcs, whose home continues to teeter above the Bow River with its foundation hanging out in space, whose lives promise to be affected for some time.
The situation is not just a local one, of course, many in High River also remain out of their homes. Some people have received provincial flood relief cheques, others haven’t seen a dime.
The problem is, the scale of the flood disaster is so massive that it’s almost beyond imagining – as is the likelihood of dealing with it to everyone’s satisfaction.
And for a provincial government already running a $5 billion deficit, finding more millions or billions of dollars to deal with the situation could prove a nearly insurmountable task.
All the flood relief funding will come out of provincial coffers, which means everyone has an interest in things being handled properly.
Thinking big picture, beyond simply getting people back in their homes and businesses, there are wide-ranging questions. If, as per the province’s flood remediation plan, homes in “red zone” floodplains will be fixed this time, but not again, shouldn’t strict adherence to alternate building guidelines be enforced?
Is there any point in replacing one stick-built, flood destroyed home with another? What if another one in a hundred year flood happens later this year or next?
On the other hand, not everybody can just move onto another property rather than rebuild an existing home. Most municipalities don’t have hundreds or thousands of lots available. And even if there were lots available, a property in a floodplain once destroyed and deemed not in line for future disaster relief would be rendered of virtually no value.
For those who can’t find an alternate building location, should it be mandatory that rebuilt homes be constructed on two or three-metre pilings to keep them above future flood waters? It would make for unusual looking neighbourhoods, but at least only vehicles and outbuildings would likely be damaged in a future flood.
In Calgary, the entire downtown core is in a floodplain – it can’t all be moved somewhere else. Should the province then take on the cost of hundreds of kilometres of diking to negate future flood events? Should High River be surrounded by dikes? Should massive earth or concrete works be erected in the usually dry Cougar Creek to ward off flash floods?
Beyond all these considerations, some thought must be given to a mandatory flood insurance policy for homeowners in floodplain areas. Should climate change result in more and more severe floods, Albertans in areas always high and dry may tire of picking up the tab for flood relief in other locales.
Finally, by way of insurance, the Province also needs to ensure that insurance companies aren’t allowed to bow out of their obligations or find loopholes that allow them to avoid paying out.
