{"id":148858,"date":"2026-07-29T23:19:13","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:19:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/148858\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T23:19:13","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T23:19:13","slug":"how-is-edmonton-managing-its-wettest-summer-in-a-century","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/148858\/","title":{"rendered":"How is Edmonton managing its wettest summer in a century?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Edmonton has already shattered the 1914 rainfall record for June and is on pace for a record-setting July.<\/p>\n

In June the city was doused in 271 mm of rain \u2014 the second largest volume of water since modern record keeping began. So far in July the city has received 264.7 mm of rain. The all-time record is 282.7 mm in July 1901.<\/p>\n

Normally dry enough that moisture is quickly absorbed into the ecosystem, with climate-changed fueled El Nino flipping weather tables around the world Edmonton has been dotted with temporary lakes and rivers in low lying areas as the soil simply cannot absorb any more water.<\/p>\n

Calgary and Edmonton helping one another<\/p>\n

These conditions have damaged the city’s forest canopy, which has taken a beating from the heavy wind. The city has signed a temporary mutual aide agreement with Calgary to share resources in the clean-up, with forestry crews from Cowtown arriving today to help the city deal with the urban canopy damage and mitigate concerns of Dutch elm disease infections from Elm bark beetles which can thrive in fallen branches.<\/p>\n

“The City of Edmonton and its parks and roads services team is extending their appreciation and deepest gratitude to the City of Calgary and its teams,” said city communications adviser Michael Steger. “This rapid mobilization is a powerful example of Alberta municipalities working together in times of need.”<\/p>\n

Edmonton has more than 12.8 million trees, but only 380,000 are along boulevards and in open park spaces.<\/p>\n

More crews are on the way from Calgary to assist the city with waste and recycling management. Calgary has been largely spared from Mother Nature’s wrath this summer.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A cyclist skirted the flooded out trails in Mill Creek ravine near Connors Road by making his own trail.<\/p>\n

Removing debris from drainage areas<\/p>\n

Epcor’s aim for clearing debris from a catch basin is within 24 hours of it being reported. However, with the volumes of rain, workers can get overwhelmed and not get to a blocked storm drain on time, which can prevent water from draining properly, causing a road to flood.<\/p>\n

Epcor received enough calls that it wouldn’t attempt to estimate how many, other than to tell Postmedia the rain has led to “significant call volumes.” The city says its received more than 3,000 calls related to fallen debris and downed trees \u2014 800 since Saturday.<\/p>\n

If you see a blocked storm drain, Epcor water services associate director Angus Grant says you can remove the debris yourself, if safe to do so. If not, or if removing the debris doesn’t improve the drainage, residents can report it to Epcor at 780 412 4500.<\/p>\n

Because the soil is saturated with water, excess moisture runs off, potentially causing flooding in low-lying areas.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

A giant grate on Mill Creek near 94 Ave where the creek goes underground to drain into the river on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. The grate has been cleared of a giant pile of debris that clogged the grate and forced rushing water to flood the area.<\/p>\n

Roads and facilities closed due to flooding<\/p>\n

A number of roads and facilities remain closed after the weekend deluge.<\/p>\n

The southbound portion of Connors Road is currently closed alongside a westbound lane on Groat Road intersecting with 107 Avenue. The westbound off-ramp for Whitemud Drive at 122 Street and 104 Street was closed but has since re-opened.\u00a0Motorists and cyclists are advised to check the city’s website<\/a> for the latest road closure updates.<\/p>\n

Edmonton Transit Service is detouring several bus routes to work around the closures, including routes 500X, 511 and 701. Drivers are also advised to avoid gravel roads where possible because the concentration of water can lead to soft spots.<\/p>\n

“Travelling on saturated gravel roads with heavy equipment can cause additional damage, so city crews wait until the roads are sufficiently dry and firm before dispatching graders,” said communications adviser Alison MacKinnon. “Inspectors are proactively inspecting grading inventory to ensure the city has a plan in place during and after weather events.”<\/p>\n

All sports fields are currently closed and Edmontonians are asked to stay off the grass at facilities and the city’s open park spaces, since the oversaturated turf is easily damaged and expensive to repair. Trails<\/a> in Mill Creek Ravine are closed between 93 Avenue and 98 Avenue and closures along the river valley are being considered as the city monitors water levels.<\/p>\n

A number of indoor facilities are closed due to flooding. They are:<\/p>\n

Reuse<\/a> Centre at 6835 83 Street \u2014 expected to reopen Thursday<\/p>\n

Indigenous Peoples Experience at Fort Edmonton Park<\/p>\n

The main pool, hot tub and sauna of Grand Trunk Fitness and Leisure Centre<\/p>\n

Peter Hemingway Aquatic Centre at Coronation Park Sports and Recreation Centre<\/p>\n

ebowling@postmedia.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Related<\/p>\n

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You can also support our journalism by becoming a digital subscriber. Subscribers gain unlimited access to The Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Sun, National Post and 13 other Canadian news sites. Support us by subscribing today: The Edmonton Journal<\/a> | The Edmonton Sun.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Edmonton has already shattered the 1914 rainfall record for June and is on pace for a record-setting July.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":148859,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[52,36265],"class_list":["post-148858","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-edmonton","tag-edmonton","tag-epcor"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148858","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=148858"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/148858\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/148859"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=148858"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=148858"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=148858"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}