After a year spent writing about sustainable projects around the world, the Green Initiatives Committee is going to keep it local and focus on Calgary. Each month, we will highlight a project or an initiative to shine a light on what Calgary is doing to protect the climate and advance towards a sustainable future.
For this first article of the year, we wanted to highlight two great projects, implemented by the City, and aimed at managing stormwater in an innovative and sustainable way: the Dale Hodges project in Bowmont Park and the Shepard Wetland project in Ralph Klein Park.
Having challenges with both intense precipitation patterns and ever-increasing soil artificialization, Calgary is particularly vulnerable to flooding caused by stormwater. Moreover, Calgary depends entirely on the Bow and the Elbow Rivers for its drinking water supply, which makes preserving the quality of the river water a must. Until recently, there was a preference for “grey infrastructure” solutions to manage rainwater, which aimed to carry the rainwater away from homes as fast as possible through a system of underground pipes. Unfortunately, those traditional methods didn’t do much for water quality as the water (and the pollutants it carries) would mostly be rejected directly into the river without treatment (newer projects are now adding filters for hydrocarbons and sediments).
Fortunately, solutions exist to both protect from flooding and improve the quality of the water that ends up in the rivers. Those methods, called “green infrastructure”, range from rain gardens to wet ponds, all the way to artificial wetlands. And Calgary is lucky to have a variety of those projects within the city. The most ambitious and innovative of which being the Dale Hodges project and the Shepard Wetland project.
Situated in an abandoned gravel pit, the Dale Hodges project is an open stormwater treatment system that aims at filtering the stormwater before it flows back to the river. It is also a clever way to educate Calgarians by making the stormwater treatment process visible. The project treats the stormwater of six Calgary neighbourhoods and is a great example of how retrofitting unused spaces can serve the community. Self-guided walking tours are provided (https://www.calgary.ca/parks/dale-hodges-park-walking-tour.html) that take you through the different steps of water filtration – from the Nautilus Pond holding area, to the polishing marsh and the wet meadow and finally to the stream that carries all the treated water back into the river. This award-winning environmental project is a must see in Calgary!
The second project is the Shepard Wetland at Ralph Klein Park which is the biggest project of its kind in Canada. It can hold six million cubic meters of stormwater, which makes it able to contain a centennial flood. It was constructed as part of the stormwater quality retrofit program, to service the East side of Calgary. This man-made wetland functions as both a stormwater storage facility and a treatment wetland that naturally filters stormwater. As an added benefit, the project became a refuge for wildlife (46 different species of birds alone were spotted there) and another opportunity for educating Calgarians about stormwater management. An environmental education centre constructed in the middle of a man-made lake provides educational opportunities for the community, with programs that emphasize teaching and learning for a sustainable future. The park also includes learning gardens, wetland study stations, wetland viewing areas and interpretive trails!
We hope that you will enjoy staying with us as we tour Calgary this year and if you want to get involved and be a part of making Mount Pleasant a greener community, we would love to have you join the committee. Please email [email protected] for more information. If you’d like to get added to our email list, or if you have any questions, you can find us on the Mount Pleasant Community Association page as well.
Have a great month,
The MPCA Green Initiatives Committee
Photo source: City of Calgary
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