North Saskatchewan River - Flooding

Flooding

Like all rivers, the North Saskatchewan is subject to periodic flooding, beginning with rapid snowmelt in the mountains or prolonged periods of rain in the river basin. With the establishment of permanent communities along the river's course, and the rise of an administrative/government structure, records exist recording floods in the North Saskatchewan for the past century. The Bighorn Dam, constructed in the early 1970s near Nordegg, Alberta, and the Brazeau Dam, constructed in the mid-1960s, have both dramatically reduced occurrences of flooding in the North Saskatchewan River.

List of notable flood years

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.
Year Edmonton Prince Albert
Peak date Peak flow
(m³/s)
Peak date Peak flow
(m³/s)
1915 29 June 4640 2 July 5300
1923 25 June 2380 30 June 1640
1944 16 June 3450
1952 25 June 3540 29 June 2970
1954 8 June 3030 12 June 2790
1965 29 June 2590 4 July 2460
1972 27 June 2970 2 July 2340
1986 19 July 3990 24 July 3230
1990 4 July 2340 10 July 1890
2005 21 June 2270 27 June 1800

The flood of 1915

The 1915 flood of the North Saskatchewan River was one of the most dramatic in the history of Edmonton. On 28 June, the Edmonton Bulletin reported the river had risen "10 feet in as many hours." A frantic phone call from Rocky Mountain House alerted local authorities to the flood's arrival. The Canadian Northern Railway had parked a number of train cars on the city's Low Level Bridge to protect against the "tons upon tons of debris" that had been pushed up against its piers, including a house swept away by the current. Thousands of Edmonton residents watched the flood destroy lumber mills along the city's river valley.

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