Author(s): Michael Brayall; Robyn Andrishak; Faye Hicks
Linked Author(s): Faye Hicks
Keywords: No keywords
Abstract: Each year during the spring, river breakup brings the threat of ice jam floods to many of the communities across Canada which are situated around rivers. Breakup ice jams occur when snowmelt swells the stream, and lifts and breaks the ice cover suddenly. The ice pieces may initially be carried along with the snowmelt flow, but often become congested – perhaps at a bridge, at a tight bend in the river, or in amongst islands – and when this happens an ice jam is formed. The streamflow is blocked by this dam of ice, and water levels can rise at rates approaching two to three feet per minute, with virtually no advance warning. As a result, damages from ice jam floods are usually extreme – averaging about $60M per year in Canada alone (in 1995 dollars). The speed and scale of this fast rising water presents a very real threat to human safety as well, and this threat can be expected to increase as our communities continue to grow and population density increases. To ensure safe and expedient evacuations from areas threatened by ice jam floods, practical and reliable river ice jam flood forecasting tools are needed. These must provide advance warning of the expected severity, timing, and magnitude of ice jam floods. This poster reports on the efforts being undertaken by researchers at the University of Alberta, hydrologists from the Department of Indian Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and the Town of Hay River Flood Watch Committee, to develop such an ice jam flood forecasting system for the community of Hay River, NWT.
Year: 2008