Lauderdale flood mitigation

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Community impact
Project timeline
Community engagement
Project map
Frequently asked questions

The Lauderdale Flood Mitigation Project has been initiated to reduce the risk of flooding in the Lauderdale and area neighbourhoods. The project is currently in the preliminary design phase.

Lauderdale is serviced with a mix of combined sanitary and storm lines, as well as separated sanitary and storm lines. In a combined system, both sanitary flows (i.e. from private service connections) and stormwater flows (i.e. from street catch basins) flow together in the same pipe. There is no stormwater management facility in the neighbourhood, and the current overland (or surface drainage system) is not sufficient. There are several areas in this neighbourhood at lower elevation where water pools, which puts the Lauderdale community at risk of flooding during intense rainfall events.

To reduce the flood risk, EPCOR will be constructing a dry pond in the Grand Trunk Off-Leash Dog Park and installing/upgrading various storm infrastructure throughout the Lauderdale neighbourhood.

Dry ponds are stormwater management facilities, which are dry the vast majority of the time. These facilities are designed to temporarily hold stormwater when the drainage system cannot handle the water volumes due to severe storm events. Severe storm events such as thunderstorms are challenging to predict because they can come with little warning. They can be very intense for a short period of time in a localized area causing flooding of roads, properties and sewer backup in basements.

During severe storm events, the ponds act as storage facilities and help protect local homes and businesses. The water will then drain from the dry ponds into the downstream drainage system when there is capacity.

This project is part of EPCOR’s Stormwater Integrated Resource Plan (SIRP) which aims to reduce the risk of flooding in Edmonton neighbourhoods and is funded in part by the Government of Canada’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF).

Find more information below or download the most recent project notice.

Community impact

During dry pond construction, we expect to keep a reduced area of the dog park open for use, along with the parking lot, with safety measures in place for park users.

The specific footprint and size of the dry pond within the dog park has not yet been determined; however, the facility needs to be designed to accommodate the future LRT alignment, the dog park access road and parking lot.

The size of the area able to remain open during dry pond construction will be based on the technical design requirements and community/dog park user feedback.

Once construction has been completed and landscaping established, the dry pond area will return to its existing size for use as part of the fenced Grand Trunk Off-Leash Dog Park - with enhanced amenities that are based on input from the community and park users, and final decision by the City of Edmonton.

Project timeline

Construction of the dry pond and storm infrastructure upgrades work is anticipated to start in 2024.

Community engagement

EPCOR is committed to an engagement approach that provides project transparency, a process to manage any questions or issues, and provides meaningful communication to residents.

We recognize the importance of the Grand Trunk Off-Leash Dog Park to the Lauderdale community and dog park users, as the off-leash dog park allows owners and their dogs to spend time together and allows dogs a space for play and socialization.

It is EPCOR’s responsibility to build the dry pond and maintain the underground drainage infrastructure. However, once the project is complete, the ownership and responsibility for maintenance of the dry pond surface, vegetation and amenities will rest with the City of Edmonton.

EPCOR has hosted multiple public information sessions for the Lauderdale Flood Mitigation Project where residents and dog park users learned about the project, asked questions, identified concerns and issues and provided feedback on identified design elements of the project.

During the five different events, EPCOR discussed the project with 200+ residents and dog park users. Attendees provided meaningful feedback and asked thoughtful questions about the project, what can be expected during construction, and what the dog park will look like once the project is complete.

The feedback heard to date includes questions, concerns and suggestions on the following project elements:

Accessibility
Amenities
Community flooding
Construction
Current usage
Dry pond design
Existing drainage issues
Landscaping
Maintenance
Safety

In 2022, EPCOR hosted public information sessions and surveyed residents and dog park users to collect feedback on the Lauderdale Flood Mitigation project. During this engagement, EPCOR heard from over 200 people and their input helped us come up with the layout we are showing you now. The proposed layout has also been reviewed by the City of Edmonton to make sure what we are suggesting is technically feasible for future upkeep and maintenance.

Following a review of all stages for input, the City of Edmonton will make the final decisions related to dog park amenity enhancements.

Project map

Frequently asked questions

Lauderdale is serviced with a mix of combined sanitary and storm lines, and separated sanitary and storm lines. In a combined sewer, both sanitary and stormwater flow together in the same pipe. There is no stormwater management facility in the neighbourhood, and the current overland (or surface drainage system) is not sufficient. There are several areas in this neighbourhood at lower elevation where water pools, which puts the Lauderdale community at risk of flooding during intense rainfall events.

There is limited green space in Lauderdale suitable for this drainage infrastructure. Due to its topographic location within the city, the Grand Trunk Off-Leash Dog Park collects stormwater from several areas within Lauderdale, as well as from areas as far west as 127 Street and as far north as 137 Avenue, during extreme rainfall events when the amount of rainfall exceeds the capacity of the local drainage systems.

Yes, several different dry pond location options were looked at; however, there is limited green space in Lauderdale. One of the alternative options that was considered was Grand Trunk Park. This area is not feasible from a technical perspective due to the major combined sewer line that runs directly underneath the park and the fact that Grand Trunk Park is three metres higher in elevation than the Grand Trunk Off-Leash Dog Park. Grand Trunk Park collects only the stormwater that falls directly on Grand Trunk Park; there is minimal stormwater that flows into Grand Trunk Park from other areas in Lauderdale.

According to the City of Edmonton, from May 1, 2019 to September 30, 2022, Grand Trunk Park is one of the City’s most heavily used sites in the northwest quadrant of Edmonton, and perhaps the City as a whole.

The project is currently in the preliminary design phase and, at this point, the design of the dry pond (exact location, size, shape, how steep/gentle the slopes are, etc.) has not yet been determined. The feedback gathered from dog park users and community residents, along with the technical requirements of the project, will help inform the final design of the dry pond.

During dry pond construction, we expect to keep a reduced area of the dog park open for use, along with the parking lot, with safety measures in place for park users. The size of the area able to remain open during dry pond construction will be based on the technical design requirements and community/dog park user feedback.

A dry pond is built with standard safety measures. Many dry ponds in the City of Edmonton are built in school yards and include recreation facilities such as soccer fields and baseball diamonds. The sides are typically gently sloped, anywhere from five to ten feet in horizontal length for every one foot of vertical drop.

Dry ponds are graded so stormwater pools in specific areas first. This helps keep the majority of the area dry and drains more quickly when they do become flooded. Water that does collect in a dry pond drains very quickly, often between one to three hours after a heavy rainfall. The grates for the drains are designed to consider safety of pets and small animals that use the facilities.

The first few millimeters of rainfall heavily dilutes any contaminants from the roadway or other surfaces and washes them through the underground stormwater system early in a storm event.

As the rainfall continues there are less contaminates remaining on the roadway and other surfaces so the concentration of potential contaminates in the stormwater is significantly reduced.

If the rainfall becomes intense enough, and if the drainage system gradually becomes full, the dry pond will begin to collect stormwater. The water in the dry pond will be mainly rainwater with very low concentrations of any sediments or contaminants.

In the City of Edmonton, dry ponds are commonly used for recreation spaces such as soccer fields and baseball diamonds, and several are located in schoolyards.

There are 79 dry ponds across the city; three of which are off-leash dog parks (located in the Tweddle Place, Satoo and Meyonohk neighbourhoods).

EPCOR will be looking for feedback on enhancements such as agility and water play features for dogs, formal trails, landscaping, etc. The proposed enhancements are intended to not only meet the diverse needs of small and big dogs, but also add amenities for dog owners.

We are in the very beginning stages of community engagement for this project, which will include community and dog park user surveys and public information sessions to get a better understanding of the community’s and dog park users’ priorities for enhancements to the dog park once the dry pond is built. The feedback from the community and dog park users will be used to inform the final design of the dry pond.

The dry pond is part of EPCOR’s Stormwater Integrated Resource Plan (SIRP) which aims to reduce the risk of flooding in Edmonton neighbourhoods. The initiative prioritizes infrastructure investments to reduce the flood risks and potential impacts.

While local flooding data is one consideration, not all flooding events are reported to EPCOR. The SIRP initiative is based on multiple criteria, including system design, insurance industry data, environmental factors and public input.

Flood mitigation in the City of Edmonton is assessed from a city-wide perspective, factoring in future climate change risks. The goal of SIRP is to reduce the risk for property damage by having safe, managed facilities that collect large volumes of water created from severe storm events.

It can take anywhere from six to eight months to build a dry pond, including restoration, depending on the size.

Construction of the dry pond and storm infrastructure upgrades work is anticipated to start in 2023, after public engagement has been completed and final designs have been approved.

Residents and users can expect to see the contractor use a combination of excavators, loaders, skid steers, and tandem trucks, as well as other equipment. Details regarding traffic accommodations, construction impacts, and timelines will be provided in future notices as we get closer to the start of construction and confirm those details with the contractor.

Questions?

This project was funded in part by the Government of Canada. We understand you may have questions about this information, so please feel free to contact us.

Contact EPCOR

Phone: 780-412-4200
Email: epcorprojects@epcor.com