An industrial area near the east edge of Calgary is becoming popular with muskrats, salamanders and ducks, thanks in part to recent flooding.
Wrangler Road, near the intersection of 84 St. and Glenmore Trail., is a busy trucking hub which currently resembles a marsh. Workers have built a makeshift dam out of random debris on the west side of 84 St. in an effort to keep the water at bay.
According to business owners, the Wrangler Road Industrial Park was built too low to begin with and recent construction to the Stoney Trail ring road has caused further deterioration to the water flow pattern.
The water comes from the City of Calgary side of 84 St. and flows east to the low lying Rocky View County side, where it collects in stagnant pools. Rocky View County is trying to pump the water, but people who own land in the area say the efforts of the county have not been effective.
The issue may be alleviated if the province allows the county to direct the water to the nearby western irrigation district canal, but the provincial government will not give the county the go ahead until the water quality has been assured through proper testing.
With files from Bridget Brown