OLDS — Chief administrative officer Brent Williams says the town will undertake a “full assessment” of a rain event that flooded some streets and intersections to see how its infrastructure can be improved, if necessary.
Williams made that statement Tuesday in an email to the Albertan after the community was hit by a deluge of water during a rainstorm that hit the community after 6 p.m. July 10.
As a result of that storm, several areas in the community were flooded, including a section of 50th Avenue near Highway 27, Beech, and 65th Avenue at Highway 27.
According to the Weather Network, a total of 22.4 millimetres of rain fell in Olds over 24 hours.
Olds firefighters were called out to deal with the situation.
“The fire department was dispatched as a preventative measure in case people needed assistance.
“But no incidents or injuries were reported, nor have we received any property damage reports," Williams wrote in an email in response to questions.
He was asked what caused the flooding – whether it was due to plugged storm sewers, for example.
“There were no infrastructure failures that lead to the flooding,” Williams wrote. “It resulted from a significant amount of rainfall in a short period, where our storm system did not keep up in some areas.”
Williams was also asked if, in light of the flooding the storm caused, the town needs to reassess its infrastructure to ensure it can handle rain events like this. It’s believed such events may become more frequent, due to climate change.
“As far as changing weather and rebuilding infrastructure, it is something we are continually assessing," Williams wrote.
“However, there will always be weather challenges that cannot be predicted or mitigated against.
“We will do a full assessment of yesterday's weather event and see what can be improved from our infrastructure’s standpoint,” he added.
