Overview
Ermineskin Cree Nation received $80,000 for the completion of a Technical Memorandum to assess future climate change impacts on drainage and flood mitigation infrastructure.
Funding for this project was provided in part by the Government of Alberta, through the Municipal Climate Change Action Centre’s Climate Resilience Capacity Building Program.
Approach
Ermineskin Cree Nation is located in Central Alberta in the upper reach of the Battle River Watershed.
Ermineskin experiences frequent local flooding during heavy precipitation events. The flooding damages local infrastructure and roads, which causes wear and tear to vehicles and makes it difficult for residents to travel.
The local drainage system consists of surface drainage through creeks, ditches, and culverts. Drainage improvements are required to ensure the existing drainage system adequately serves the community, now and into the future.
Ermineskin engaged Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. (KWL) to assess drainage issues at four locations and determine future climate impacts on drainage infrastructure to enable Ermineskin to become more resilient to future climate change-impacted rainfall events.
To develop climate change recommendations for future drainage management, the most recent version of the University of Western’s IDF_CC tool was used to determine percent increases in each storm duration and return period used for storm system design.
The climate change assessment was completed for the 2020-2080 time horizon, for infrastructure intended to have a life cycle extending to at least 2075 and consistent with the planning horizon.
Results
From a drain management perspective, the most significant climate change impacts for Ermineskin will be in the form of precipitation intensity and rainfall volume increase.
The project team completed a Flood Frequency Analysis and determined the impacts of climate change on future rainfall events, and how this will affect creek flows. The team analyzed the capacity of existing culverts to manage heavy future rainfall events and determined the required upgrades and associated high-level costs to enhance the climate resiliency of existing infrastructure.
The results and recommendations are summarized in a Technical Memorandum and Council presentation.
Benefits
The results of this project equip Ermineskin Cree Nation staff and leadership with the information to make informed decisions about infrastructure upgrades to enhance the Nation’s resilience to climate events like flooding into the future.
“The CRCB Program gave us a more comprehensive understanding on how to address the impacts of climate changes in our Nation.”
Shelley Cutarm, Ermineskin Public Works Manager
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