The Calgary Rivers Users’ Alliance (CRUA) was formed to improve recreational boating access to the Bow and Elbow Rivers in Calgary. More recently the scope of our advocacy has expanded to recreation management improvement across the Bow River Basin.
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July 4, 2024NewsThe following news release was received from Alberta Environment & Protected Areas today. Some important decisions have been made to move the project forward as quickly as possible while recognizing the importance of public engagement in the future of the project development.
The Morley Reservoir Option will not be advanced at this time leaving the Relocated Ghost Dam and Glenbow East Reservoir option still under consideration for flood relief to the City of Calgary and drought relief for downstream agricultural needs. The three original reservoir options have received considerable criticism in recent years given that flood mitigation infrastructure enhancement projects in Calgary, combined with possible optimizing water storage capacity of existing reservoirs, and improved water management policy upstream of Calgary could alleviate most of the flood and drought risk. Therefore, the Alberta Government’s decision to look at alternatives to the two remaining reservoir storage options is appropriate.
July 2024 Update: The Bow River Reservoir Options
Phase 2: Feasibility Study
Thank you for your continued interest in the Bow River Reservoir Options (BRRO) initiative. As part of our commitment to provide regular updates on the initiative, we would like to share information on the recent engagement activities and our work assessing alternatives to a dam and reservoir.
Given the need to move in a timely manner to prevent floods and mitigate drought along the Bow River, Environment and Protected Areas will not advance the Morley option any further at this time. The study continues to assess technical feasibility, while carefully considering a variety of social, environmental, cultural, traditional land use, engineering, and economic elements for the remaining Relocated Ghost Dam and Glenbow East Options. Accordingly, recent engagement efforts focused on these two options.
The current stage of the initiative is indicated in the graphic below. For more details on the BRRO initiative, including feasibility study updates and engagement opportunities, please visit: https://www.alberta.ca/bow-river-reservoir-options
The Bow River Reservoir Options Study Team
The Bow River Reservoir Options initiative will now focus on two reservoir options in the Bow River basin, upstream of Calgary:Relocated Ghost Dam: An expansion of the existing Ghost Reservoir west of Cochrane
Glenbow East: A new reservoir between Cochrane and the Bearspaw Dam at the western edge of CalgaryIn addition, alternatives to the two remaining reservoir option are now being considered.July 2024 Update: The Bow River Reservoir Options
The Alberta government is looking at alternatives, what does that mean?
Although the BRRO is exploring a potential new reservoir on the Bow River upstream of Calgary for water management flexibility, much work has gone into assessing if there is something else, an alternative, that could be done that would provide equivalent flood mitigation and drought protection. The Alberta government is preparing a report that synthesizes the assessments of key alternatives, documenting in one place their benefits, risks and other important considerations. This will help inform a decision on whether to proceed with one of the reservoir options to Phase 3: Engineering and Regulatory Approval Process.
What alternatives are included?
Many alternatives were assessed by the Bow River Working Group, as described in their May 2017 report, Advice to Government on Water Management in the Bow River Basin. The BRRO was initiated as a result of the Alberta government accepting a recommendation from this report.
Other alternatives were assessed during the Phase 1: Conceptual Assessment as documented in the final report, identified as part of a jurisdictional review conducted by the BRRO study team in 2023 or recommended to the Alberta government during BRRO engagement. [...]
May 15, 2024NewsEach year hundreds, or if not, thousands of vehicles are shuttled downstream the Bow River for the convenience of anglers and paddlers to arrive at their destination, knowing that their vehicle is safely delivered to a takeout point. Keys are most likely left with one of the shuttle companies that operate on the Bow River so that the cars or trucks can be moved between designated river access points independent of river recreation activities. The question of vehicle and key security has rarely been a problem. But that all changed in 2023!
In December 2023 one of the commercial shuttle companies had a vehicle stolen that included the client’s keys that had not been secured for the winter months. The exact number of stolen keys was unknown, and clients were unaware of the theft until they planned to use the shuttle service in 2024. Clients’ vehicles were exposed to possible theft over the winter months and may still be at risk. The option to alleviate the problem is to change the keys and lock assembly at a cost exceeding $1500, or have the keys reprogrammed for $200 which will still allow entry into the vehicle but not drive it away.
The latter option was taken by a regular river user, but on the first trip in 2024, the vehicle was opened before the shuttle driver arrived and the vehicle registration and insurance had been stolen. This opens up greater security risks for the vehicle owner’s residence and property are now exposed.
The lesson to be learned: If your keys are currently in the hands of a shuttle company, check if they are still there. If not take appropriate action to secure your vehicle as soon as possible. And discuss with the shuttle operator what key security issues are planned for in 2024
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May 4, 2024NewsThe Bow River and its tributaries have a wide range of flows throughout the year. Peak flows are reached during late June and July following snow melt in the mountains and taper off until the fall. Two graphs document the current water flows through Calgary and below the Carseland Dam after the takeoff into the Bow River Irrigation District Headwater Canal.For a better understanding of the Bow River water management objectives the calculated and natural flows for the Elbow to Highwood, and Highwood to Carseland reached of the Bow River can be found on our Bow River Flows PageThe Alberta Government’ s Rivers App reports live flow rates and snowpack across the province. Stream flow advisories are also available on the website. [...]
April 1, 2024NewsThe City of Calgary Fish Habitat Compensation Program (FHCP) is unique in so far as the sites selected for the fish compensation initiative are spread across the entire City of Calgary Bow River and the Elbow River watersheds. In addition, the sites are located above and below the Western Irrigation District Weir–Harvie Passage (HP) and the Bonnybrook Wastewater Treatment Plant (BWTP) which have historically had an impact on fish movement and aquatic food sources, respectively.The Quarry Park Side Channel Project is located below both HP and BWTP and is representative of a more abundant fish population that the Bow River is renowned for.
Bowmont West Side Channel Project is located above the BWTP and HP. The site is located close to the Bearspaw Reservoir outflow and is subject to water management discharge practices close to the reservoir’s outflow.
The Elbow Island Gravel Bar Enhancement Project is above both BWTP and HP and is located in a city-managed river flow source and primary brown trout spawning area.Historically the Western Irrigation District Weir presented a barrier to the free movement of fish across the City reach of the Bow River, but the development of the Harvie Passage Low Water Channel that was opened in 2011 and upgraded in 2018 eliminated this restraint. Over the past 20 years, BWTP practices have improved whereby less phosphate and other residues are discharged into the river. Both these improvements have an impact on the fish population dynamics now and into the future.
Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, and to a lesser degree Mountain Whitefish are the principal sport fishing targets in the Bow River. The City reach of the Bow River and the Elbow River are considered prime fall spawning sites for brown trout. But little is known of the rainbow trout spawning activity in the spring. The FHCP offers valuable insight into the fish population dynamics within the City of Calgary. It also demonstrates that the hard armament of vulnerable riverbanks under flood conditions can be compensated by back-channel enhancement initiatives and long-term site maintenance.
The Review is limited to fish and habitat dynamics. An expanded review of the references in this document will allow for further investigation by those individuals who wish to broaden their knowledge base. The discussion within the publication gives direction that should be considered in the interpretation of fish population dynamics and what research is needed to fill in the gaps.
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November 5, 2023NewsEvery year, the irrigation canals located throughout southern Alberta are shut off in October that results in the stranding of any fish which entered the canals during the irrigation season. As the canals drain and what little water remains freezes, and fish would die if not rescued by groups of concerned volunteers. Trout Unlimited Canada, in partnership with Alberta Environment & Protected Areas coordinate fish rescues every year. The number of fish rescued is staggering!
Over the past three years an average of 26,000 fish have been rescued from the Western Irrigation Headwaters Canal in Calgary, and 11,325 at the Bow River Irrigation Headwaters Canal at Carseland.But what contribution does the fish rescue have on the resident fish population?
Entrainment of fish in irrigation canals has been considered a major source of mortality for some fish populations. However, the magnitude of fish loss from entrainment is usually not evaluated from a broader perspective of its impact on the source fish population. A 2003 research project at the Bow River Irrigation Headwaters Canal at Carseland addressed the impact of fish entrainment in the canal on the Bow River sport fishery. A review of the research findings is available on the CRUA Resource Page that gives an account of the impact of irrigation canal entrainment on the Bow River fish population:The Carseland Canal entrains large numbers of fish every year. The three target species (rainbow trout, brown trout and whitefish) alone constituted an estimated loss of 98,510 fish of all sizes from the Bow River in 2003. Entrainment of all other species in the Carseland Canal may be between 139,977 and 1,444,928 fish. While this is a large number of fish, the impact of loss to the canal on the total population abundance of the three target species is relatively low. Our results for fish greater than 150 mm indicate that mortality due to entrainment in the canal accounts for only 0.6%, 0.5%, and 0.3% of all sources of annual mortality for rainbow trout, brown trout, and mountain whitefish, respectively. These results are similar to findings on other irrigation canals.The annual Trout Unlimited Canada fish rescue on the Carseland Canal provides a useful source of information for examining the relative change in species composition and size structure of entrained fish between years. However, our results indicate that although fish rescue is extremely efficient at capturing fish, the number of fish rescued each year is a small proportion of the total estimated entrainment. In 2003, the fish rescue volunteers recovered 9,455 of all sizes of the three target species out of 98,510 estimated to have been entrained throughout the diversion period. This represents only 9.6% of the estimated entrained target fish.The project was completed in 2003 but also used data from previous years when the Bow River fish populations were at their highest in many years. A subsequent decline in the Bow River Rainbow Trout population of 43% was reported over a 10-year period from 2003 to 2013 has heightened the fishing community’s interest in fish entrainment as a possible cause for the Bow River fish population decline.
The discussion within the report gives direction that should be considered in the interpretation of fish entrainment and consideration of what research is needed to fill in the gaps. [...]
Bow River Flows at Calgary, Cochrane and Downstream to Carseland
