Flooding concerns remain low in Lethbridge, southern Alberta as rain continues to fall

In Lethbridge, the Oldman River is sitting at 1.97m as of 4:10 p.m. Tuesday, an increase of 1.1m since Monday afternoon. However, those in the river bottom say they aren’t concerned yet.

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -

With the rain continuing to pound southern Alberta, water levels and flow rates are rising for both the Oldman and Waterton Rivers but the flood risk for Lethbridge appears to be low.              

“We have activated our incident command post and were undertaking notifications of land owners on the Waterton River,” said Derrick Krizsan, chief administrative officer with the M.D. of Willow Creek.

As of 4:10 p.m. on Tuesday, current river levels of the Waterton River were 2.12 m, an increase of more than a metre since Monday afternoon, according to River.Alberta.ca. The M.D. of Willow Creek continued to watch the situation in the event flooding occurs.

“We’re monitoring very closely as the storm tracks northeast the impacts it will have on the creeks and rivers in the municipality,” Krizsan said.

NOT CONCERNED YET

In Lethbridge, the Oldman River was at 1.97m as of 4:10 p.m., an increase of 1.1m since Monday afternoon. However, those in the river bottom said they weren’t concerned yet.

“Tuesday morning, the Oldman was travelling at 175 m3/s, which is pretty low for our golf course to flood,” said Jae Maegaard, head golf professional at Paradise Canyon Golf Resort. “We would have to see somewhere around 1000 m3/s cubic for it to be a bit more of a scare for us here at the golf course.”

The City of Lethbridge is closely monitoring the situation, but believes the risk of flooding remains low for city.

LOW RISK FOR CITY

The City of Lethbridge is closely monitoring the situation, but believes the risk of flooding remains low for the city. The city’s flood response operations will be activated if the river flows at a minimum 669 m3/s and as of Tuesday afternoon, the Oldman River was flowing at 231.8 m3/s.

However, some low-lying areas in southern Alberta are experiencing flooding, including in Waterton Lakes National Park.

Waterton remains under a flood watch, despite precipitation being less than forecast.

“Lake levels could rise approximately 30 centimetres and are forecast to peak between Tuesday night and Wednesday night. There are no flood-related closures currently in place or planned at this time. Currently there is minor flooding in low-lying, flood-prone areas along the shorelines of the Waterton Lakes,” reads a statement from Parks Canada.

Despite the concerning rise in river levels, both Maegaard and Krizsan said the rain is much-needed.

“We’ve got tons of rain happening, it's phenomenal for the golf course, we're not mad about it, but a little bit less would be nice,” said Maegaard.

“We will never turn rain down in this part of the world, but certainly we are watching it very carefully to ensure public safety and ensuring that both lives and properties are protected as best as we can,” Krizsan added.

The rain is expected to diminish Wednesday morning.