Lauderdale flood mitigation

EPCOR has completed several sewer upgrades within the neighbourhood. All Stage 1B sewer upgrades are expected to be complete in late October 2025.

November 2025 to July 2026

The final dry pond design has been approved by the City of Edmonton and construction is anticipated to begin in early November 2025. More information about the construction work will be shared with residents in advance of work beginning.

November 2025 to fall 2026

A portion of the combined sewer will be upgraded using microtunneling. Micro-tunneling is a method used to construct new drainage tunnels. First, a large shaft is built, which will facilitate lowering of a micro-tunnel boring machine (TBM) into the ground. The TBM then grinds through soil and rocks/boulders underground along the alignment of the new tunnel. Pipe is then pushed behind the micro-tunneling machine to create the new tunnel.

The tunneling process occurs underground, however, two shafts are required at the surface along the alignment of the tunnel. These shafts are placed at engineered start and end points. Due to the size of the shaft locations, impacts usually include road/sidewalk closures.

The TBM used to tunnel underground operates under a pressure system to move forward. When stopped, the machine requires force to push it forward when tunneling resumes. A delayed stoppage could result in a situation where the TBM gets stuck and is unable to move forward. 24 hours a day, 7 days a week (24/7) tunneling work is required to reduce this risk.

Spring 2026 to summer 2027

A portion of the storm infrastructure will be completed using  of open trench construction. During each phase of the open-trench construction, a portion of the road and asphalt will be removed first. A portion of the curb, sidewalks and front facing driveways may be removed in order to accommodate the worksite. Next, the area will be excavated and pipe will be installed. Finally, the area will be backfilled and restored.

Summer 2027

During this work, a portion of pipe that runs underneath the CN Rail yard will be decommissioned. More information about future stages of work will be provided to residents prior to work beginning, and will include details about the final location of the tunneling worksite.

Please note, these timelines are estimates pending internal approvals, permitting, construction conditions, and weather.

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.

A large area of the green space in the Grand Trunk Off-Leash Dog Park will be used during the construction of the dry pond. Residents and dog owners will still be able to access the park, but areas under construction will be fenced off for safety. The fence around the outside of the off-leash dog park will stay in place. The small dog park will remain accessible from the parking lot. The large dog use area will be accessible from the west side of the park.

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).

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.

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.