Sunday July 12th 2015 will not be a date that anyone in Chestermere forgets anytime soon. Chestermere residents were woken up around 6:30am when an intense thunderstorm was putting on quite the show. Loud thunder and bright lightning, it had the feel of most thunderstorms, which tend to leave as quickly as they arrive. But this was not the case on this Sunday morning.
No sooner did the storm start, it quickly escalated bringing in torrential rain and hail which when all was said and done, lasted for almost six hours. Within an hour of the storm starting, another devastating blow was when Chestermere fell dark. With the power going out in most of Chestermere, that left sump pumps unable to operate and the water began to rise.
With pounding rain, the water just had nowhere else to go. Basements began to flood, streets impassable, parking lots disappearing and business closed as the water just kept coming. It didn’t take long for ponds around Chestermere to spill their banks and where once was walk paths and green space, now sits nothing but murky water. Residents of Chestermere took to social media with cries for help and absolute shock and panic as the water continued to rise and the city remained dark.
However, in the eye of this storm, Chestermere began to do what Chestermere does best. Chestermere RCMP, Chestermere Fire Service and other emergency crews were dispatched and began going through the city blocking roads that were unsafe and helping those that were in distress. Chestermere Utilities Incorporated (CUI) and City of Chestermere staff also took to the streets and began to drain storm ponds and clogged storm drains.
Neighbours began congregating in their streets, assessing what the needs were of everyone. Sharing generators to help operate sump pumps while the power remained off, helping to bucket out basements, taking each other supplies and food – the city rallied to take care of their own. With no one knowing how long this storm would last or how long until the lights came back on, those that hadn’t flooded and still had their power began offering places for people to stay for the night that had not come out of this so fortunate.
But in true Southern Alberta fashion, just like someone flipped a switch, by late afternoon the sun was shining. As the rain clouds moved away and the thunder quieted, power was slowly restored communities and the clean-up began. The sound of sump pumps working double time, shop vacs running, and neighbours going from house to house seeing what was needed and how they could help. Roads began to reopen and curbs began to show the destruction as piles of soaking wet carpet, destroyed cardboard boxes and other pieces of shrapnel lined the streets as evidence to the destruction.
In a statement released by the City of Chestermere on Sunday afternoon, Director of Emergency Management Steve Bagley, stated “This was an intensely severe storm that brought an amount of water that overwhelmed our systems. We are working hard to assist residents and restore services as quickly as possible. Fortis Alberta reports that power has been restored to many parts of the City, Chestermere Lake water levels are under control, and City staff are working to clear backed up storm drains as quickly as possible”.
CUI also put out a statement confirming with residents that the tap water in Chestermere remained clean, and therefore a boil water advisory was not issued for the city. They also issued the following statement, “EPCOR staff are dealing with the sudden and major sewage load increases to the Lift Stations (what pumps sewer back to Calgary for treatment). We are asking people to hold off on doing their laundry, dishes, using dishwashers, flushing and even waiting on taking that shower or bath until tomorrow. This really will help your neighbours by slowing your home’s sewage levels flowing into the sewer pipes. Many residents have been dealing with the flooding (basements flooding) since early this morning and by lessening the load to the Lift Stations, you will be helping everyone get these situations under control”.
As the afternoon turned to evening, residents draining out their basements and assessing the damage, some Chestermere groups and businesses began offering up services to those in need. The Knights of Columbus put out on Facebook that they would be setting up for a BBQ in the parking lot of the Chestermere Rec Centre and invited anyone to come get something to eat if you had been affected by the flooding, or had been helping those affected. The Knights of Columbus wanted it to be their way of giving back to the community and thanking those that stepped up and helped those in need.
It has been reported that including some homes on the east side of Calgary and also homes in Langdon, over 20,000 homes were without power during this wicked storm. With Airdrie, Langdon, east Calgary and other areas being hit by this storm, Chestermere was the worst hit and received almost 200 mm of rain.
Monday looked like something out of a movie as, despite the road ways now being clear of water, debris was left scattered all around and the clean-up began. Yards and curbs began filling with carpet, mattresses and other household items that were ruined the day before. Carpet cleaning companies, restoration and demolition vehicles lined Chestermere streets doing their part in the clean-up.
Great community supporters, Reid Built Homes, brought out a dump truck and a crew and spent Monday going around to Chestermere residents picking up flood debris from their homes and yards.
At 1:30pm Monday July 13, 2015, a press conference was held at the Chestermere Fire Hall where Mayor Patricia Matthews, CUI President and COO Ray MacIntosh and Director of Emergency Management Steve Bagley addressed the media. Mayor Matthews was the first to address the media stating that she was proud of the way that Chestermere resident and the community as a whole had banded together to help one another. But when asked if Chestermere’s infrastructure was sufficient enough, she turned the conversation over to MacIntosh and Bagley.
“The city is now in recovery stage following yesterday’s severe storm and subsequent flooding,” said Steve Bagley. “The city is working with its partners and assisting agencies in facilitating the cleanup process”. Chief Bagley also confirmed that there were no reports of lightning strikes in the City of Chestermere during Sunday’s storm.
CUI President and COO, Ray MacIntosh, was peppered with questions during Monday’s press conference with questions surrounding the effectiveness of Chestermeres current sewer and storm water systems. MacIntosh states that the systems that Chestermere has in place work very well in normal circumstances, but that no system could have handled the amount of water in the time of which it fell in Chestermere on Sunday. MacIntosh stated that most of the flooding in Chestermere was overland flooding, and although some homes did experience sewer back up, those situations were very few.
As well, CUI did provide the following statement:
Contact your insurance provider regarding property damage.
– DAMAGED MATERIAL from the flooding (carpeting, mattresses, large items): CUI is currently coordinating large industrial-sized garbage bins to be placed at central locations for use by those who have been impacted by Sunday’s flood event. These large bins will be there for our residents so they can safely dispose of any damaged materials. Locations to be confirmed shortly – updates will be posted here on website as well as CUI Twitter feeds and CUI Facebook page.
– Tap water quality remains SAFE to use and has not been compromised. We simply ask you use less water to help SLOW THE FLOW to the sewers (Lift Stations) at this time.
– EPCOR staff worked throughout the night, dealing with sudden and major sewage load increases to the Lift Stations (what pumps sewer back to Calgary for treatment). We thank them for keeping Chestermere’s water and sewer systems functioning and our water safe.
– The Sewer Systems are functioning well and incoming sewage is returning to a “slightly higher than normal” operational levels, however, we are asking residents to be water wise during this time, only running full laundry loads when necessary, full dishwashers, avoiding unnecessary flushing and overall, slowing the flow to the sewage.
Many of our residents have been dealing with the flooding (basements flooding) since early Sunday morning and please help prevent back-ups by lessening the load (slowing the flow) to the Lift Stations during this time.
SLOW THE FLOW
– CUI staff are continuing their work to safely drain the storm ponds. The water levels are slowly dropping. Please do not enter the water in the ponds or creeks.
Please continue to stay out of the flood waters.
There are hidden dangers that lurk beneath the surface (street manholes that may have moved, culverts, drains and more). Please keep your family members, including the four-legged ones, safe and out of the flood waters.
The City of Chestermere released a statement Monday, “Remember to take pictures/video for your insurance. Contact the City at 403-207-7075 for a FREE building/electrical/plumbing inspection”.
As the clean-up continues, and rainy weather remains in the forecast for the week, the community of Chestermere has proven once again that they always pull together and help their own. A silver lining to the dark clouds.
