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Project background

Parkallen experienced flooding during the intense rainfall events in 2004 and 2012 and has been identified as a neighbourhood that is at risk of flooding during severe storm events. The Parkallen Flood Mitigation Project was initiated with the objective of reducing the risk of flooding during high-intensity, low-frequency rainfall events.

To reduce this flood risk, we'll be constructing two dry ponds (red on map below): one in the school site, and one in Ellingson Park, as well as two sewer upgrade areas (blue on map below), located in separate areas of the neighbourhood.

Recreation amenity replacement

Because of the required work with the dry ponds, the existing recreation amenities need to be reconfigured. So, we began a process in 2018 to gather community feedback about the recreation amenities that will be replaced in the 2 areas.

A community survey was released via hard copy mail‐outs to all Parkallen residents in August 2018. The survey had a strong response, with 131 replies. The survey included questions on current usage, dry pond layout preferences, replacement of garden area, and activity importance scoring.

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Parkallen School dry pond Ellingson Park dry pond Sewer upgrade work
Parkallen School dry pond

In November 2018, 92 ballots were received from the community for the final replacement recreation amenities following a community survey on preferences in Parkallen school area.

U9 and U11 soccer fields was the overall community preference with 61% of the vote. U13 soccer field received 13% of the vote. 22% of respondents had no preference and 4% did not select an option, but provided comments.

The City had the final decision making authority on the final recreation amenities and selected one U9 and one U11 soccer field to be replaced in the Parkallen School site based on the results from the community vote, along with feedback from stakeholders.

The Parkallen School dry pond will include 2 grass access ramps built into the west side of the pond to provide easier access for people with limited mobility.

See the map below for what the soccer fields will look like when the work is done. It also shows where the drainage infrastructure will be placed. 

 Find out the timeline for this work and how it will impact you.

 

Ellingson Park dry pond

The park includes a large, circular planter that formerly was a fountain but is no longer functional. The community currently maintains this planter with the support of the City of Edmonton and the Muttart Conservatory.

The existing planter cannot be moved to a new location as it is in poor structural condition, and will have to be removed during construction of the pond. The people who maintain this planter indicated that this area is difficult to service due to the distance from the supply storage area.

An overwhelming amount of comments were provided in the first survey indicating the importance of green space enjoyment of nature and the ability to do informal activities. In response to this, the proposed layout of the Ellingson pond is a green space of irregular shape to give a more natural feel to the pond area, while still having space in the bottom for informal recreation activities.

Due to the large response in favour of a garden area, a new garden area will be established within the space shown below. This will be accomplished in consultation with the Community Engagement Committee to ensure that it is easily maintainable and provides value to the community.

See the map below for what the area will look like when the work is done. It also shows where the drainage infrastructure will be placed. 

 Find out the timeline for this work and how it will impact you.

 

Sewer upgrade work

Further work is required on the sewer system outside the dry pond area for this project. For this work, there will be 2 work areas (blue on the map above):

  • Ally south of 67 Avenue and west of 112 Street
  • Along 62 Avenue and 112A Street

Find out the timeline for this work and how it will impact you.

​About dry ponds

Dry ponds provide recreational areas in your community, but they also serve another purpose: flood protection for your neighbourhood.

They collect and store water during large rainfall events to reduce the risk of home and street flooding.

Watch this video to learn more about dry ponds.

Dry pond work construction steps

  1. The topsoil will be removed from the pond surface and hauled offsite. Once the removal of the top soil is complete, a survey crew will layout the design and the pond excavation will begin.
  2. The installation of the sub-drain collection system will be done as sections of the pond are completed.
  3. After the sub-drain collection system has been installed, the remaining landscaping work will be done which will include topsoil, sod, recreation amenities and other fixtures.
  4. Surface feature restoration and installation (walkways) will be done at the same time as nearby grading and landscaping to ensure minimal disruption to already completed work.

Find out the timeline for this work and how it will impact you.

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