Moving Towards

Resiliency

20/04/2016

Flood Resiliency

Sandra Davis, P.Eng, M.Sc.

for
Carolyn Bowen, MSc.
The City of Calgary
April 15, 2016

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A community cannot be truly resilient

if it does not internalize
the lessons learned from past misfortunes
in an effort to mitigate future adversities.
Calgary Chamber of Commerce

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River Flood: Calgary Context

1M+ City near headwaters of 2 flashy mountain rivers

Very high risk exposure; Downtown in area of risk

Rapid groundwater ingress
Unusual hydrology, few floods in last 70 years
Low floodplain terrace, overland spills
Vocal, engaged, informed citizenry
Water supply challenged local and regional provider
Mobile alluvial channels
Land use bylaw age: main floor regulations, floodway
Advanced drainage, riparian and environmental policy
Extreme consequence dam owner
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What is Resiliency?

The capacity of any entity an individual, a community,

an organization or a natural system to prepare for
disruptions, to recover from shocks and stresses and to
adapt and grow from a disruptive experience.
Judith Rodin, President, the Rockefeller Foundation

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What is Resiliency?

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What is Resiliency?
Building resilience based on four dimensions:
Health & wellbeing

The health & wellbeing of everyone living and working in the city.

Economy & society

The social & financial systems that enable urban populations to live
peacefully, and act collectively.

Infrastructure & environment

The way in which man-made & natural infrastructure provide critical

services and protects urban citizens.

Leadership & strategy

Effective leadership, empowered stakeholders, and integrated

planning.
(Developed by Arup with support from the Rockefeller Foundation)

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City of Calgary River Flood Mitigation Program

In July 13, 2013, the River Flood Mitigation Program was established.

The program is based on the 27 recommendations made by the Expert

Management Panel on River Flood Mitigation.

Recommendations range from improving communications with citizens to

long-term mitigation projects to help build resilience to flood throughout the
watershed.

Serves as the foundation for The Citys strategic approach to flood resilience.

We are currently working

through the 27
recommendations.

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Strategic Framework

The recommendations are organized into five-key performance areas

Interdependencies exist between all performance areas and success cannot
be achieved overnight.
Success is dependent on strong partnerships with the Province, business,
community leaders, and citizens.
Building community-level resilience and helping Calgarians stay informed is
fundamental to achieving our goals.

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Building Community Resilience

Environmental and structural mitigation does not guarantee that our city is
resilient.

The City cannot build resilience on its own.

Need participation and contributions from all citizens to ensure long-term and
societal resilience. This includes:
Community leaders
Businesses
Non-profits
Individuals

Calgary Emergency Management Agency (CEMA) provides services to help

build community resilience and preparedness to major events

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Supporting Community Resilience

READYCALGARY
New, comprehensive emergency management educational program
For community leaders and citizens
Developed by CEMA in collaboration with Agency members, partners,
subject matter experts and community members

http://www.calgary.ca/CSPS/cema/Pages/READYCALGARY-Program-Overview.aspx
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Business Resiliency

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Business Resiliency

CEMA, in partnership with the

Calgary Chamber of Commerce,
supports Calgary businesses
with the development and testing
of their business continuity plans.

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Non-Profit Sector Resiliency

Aims to identify the central non-profit organizations who provide
a critical service to citizens during emergencies and disasters to
promote:
network engagement,
preparedness
business continuity strategies

which will ensure a collaborative response to adverse events.

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Supporting Personal Resilience

Flood Readiness campaign and information
www.calgary.ca/floodinfo

Flood Readiness Booklet

available online and at City events

http://www.calgary.ca/UEP/Water/Pages/FloodInfo/Prepare-for-flooding/Preparing-your-home.aspx

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Prepare Citizen preparedness

The Citys Flood Readiness campaign

Citizen focused educational campaign
Creates awareness on:
How river flooding happens
What The City is doing to prepare and mitigate
How Calgarians can plan for flood events and protect their family,
property and businesses.
Provides tools and resources to understand, prepare and stay
informed.
Campaign runs May 14 to July 15
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Other communication activities:

social media tweets and Facebook posts

digital display updates
calgary.ca advertising
community newsletters (~1200 subscribers)
internal communications for City staff
media access to City spokesperson (Frank Frigo)
three City produced videos

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www.calgary.ca/floodinfo
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Community Advisory Group and Citizen

Engagement
Perform an evaluation of flood mitigation options for
Calgary to build a resilient city.
Looks at mitigation options from an environmental, social
and economic perspectives.
Evaluates flood mitigation options considering citizen
input.
Provide a prioritized list of flood mitigation measures and
action plan to Council in Q1 2017.

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What is the purpose of the Community Advisory Group?

To bring together members of the community to share
perspectives and to provide input on flood mitigation measures
that will protect the social, environmental and economic

resiliency of Calgary for the present and future generations.

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Community Advisory Group and Citizen

Engagement
Water Resources, Planning and the
Engagement team worked closely
to develop a plan based on the City
of Calgary Engagement Framework
Stakeholder values, priorities and
perspectives will form part of the
Citys evaluation of potential
mitigation measures

The engagement process will:

Collect perspectives and input for decision making
Facilitate some of the education, dialogue and
relationships that build resiliency
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Importance of Citizen Engagement

We will let citizens know what mitigation measures are being

considered and why in a transparent way.
We will use engagement feedback to make the best decisions for
Calgary.
Engagement provides an opportunity for all citizens and flood-affected
communities to understand the trade offs in each mitigation scenario
and tell us which options they prefer.

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Living with the River

Flooding will never go away and it is impossible to mitigate flooding
100%.
The river will continue to change and evolve.
Need to invest in personal resistance and community resilience among
Calgarians.
Helping Calgarians learn to live with the river and be prepared for
future events.
How will we live with the river in the future?

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Challenges and Lessons Learned

Flooding is a source of distress and has an emotional impact. It can
take time to be able to have constructive conversations.
There are diverse perspectives about how the floodplain should be
managed, and what resiliency looks like.

It requires a long process of engagement to identify and resolve

conflicts over diverse values and aspirations.
It is a challenge to communicate enough about what mitigation and
resiliency work has been/is being done, the mitigation planning
process and its timeline.

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Creating a Resilient Future

What does a resilient community look like to you?

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Questions?

Carolyn Bowen
Program Manager, Flood Resiliency and Mitigation
Carolyn.Bowen@calgary.ca
(403) 268-2509

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