suite 200 alberta canada lessons learned t2g 0y2...

Suite 200

334 – 11 Ave S.E.

Calgary

Alberta

Canada

T2G 0Y2

Telephone

(403) 215-8880

Fax

(403) 215-8889

Dillon Consulting

Limited

Lessons Learned Summary Report

River Forecast Centre Lessons

Learned and Partner Engagement

Sessions

May 16, 2014

Final Report

Client:

Alberta Environment and Sustainable

Resource Development

Project Manager: Audrey Lebel Désorcy

Submitted by:

Dillon Consulting Limited

#200, 334- 11 Ave. S.E.

Calgary, AB

T2G 0Y2

Suite 200

334 – 11 Ave S.E.

Calgary

Alberta

Canada

T2G 0Y2

Telephone

(403) 215-8880

Fax

(403) 215-8889

Dillon Consulting

Limited

May 16, 2014

Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development

River Forecast Section

11th Floor, Oxbridge Place

9820-106 Street N.W.

Edmonton, Alberta T5K 2J6

Attention: Bernard Trevor

Contracting Manager

Subject: Lessons Learned Summary Report

Dear Bernard;

Dillon Consulting Limited (Dillon) is pleased to provide you with the Lessons Learned

Summary Report for the River Forecast Centre Lessons Learned and Partner

Engagement project (ESRD-OPSOIB-140286).

Thank you for making the Dillon Team welcome and an integral part of your process. We

have enjoyed our time together and hope that we can continue to contribute to the

future work of the River Forecast Centre and Alberta Environment and Sustainable

Resources Development (ESRD).

Please contact us if you have any questions or require more information about our final

Report.

Sincerely,


Audrey Lebel Désorcy

Project Manager

ALD:db

Lessons Learned Summary Report May 2014

i

River Forecast Centre

TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Executive Summary ............................................................................................................... ii

1 Summary Of Work Completed .................................................................................... 1

1.1 Activity 1 - Project Kick-off and Design Meeting ................................................................ 1

1.1.1 Situation Analysis and Risk Mitigation ................................................................... 1

1.1.2 Design of the Engagement Process ....................................................................... 2

1.2 Activity 2 – Engage RFC Partner Groups and Clients .......................................................... 3

1.2.1 Facilitated Dialogue ............................................................................................... 3

1.2.2 Workbook – Summary Reports .............................................................................. 5

2 Lessons Learned ......................................................................................................... 6

2.1 Substantive Issues ............................................................................................................... 6

2.2 Indicators of Success and “Future as Possibility” ............................................................... 7

3 Closure ..................................................................................................................... 18

FIGURES Figure 1: Probability and Consequence Impact Matrix ................................................................................. 1

Figure 2: Spectrum of Engagement .............................................................................................................. 3

Figure 3: Guiding Principles .......................................................................................................................... 4

Figure 4: River Forecast Centre - Communication Process ......................................................................... 10

Figure 5: River Forecast Centre – Simplified Operations Process ............................................................... 11

APPENDICES Appendix A: Design meeting minutes January 24, 2014

Appendix B: Situation Analysis and Risk Mitigation

Appendix C: List of the centres that provided or sent information to Dillon

Appendix D: Commitments and follow up activities

Appendix E: Summarized list of the proposed groups

Appendix F: Workbook Summary Reports


ii


EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In June 2013, a severe rain event in southern Alberta caused widespread flooding and significant

related impacts to a large number of communities and areas. During this event Alberta Environment

and Sustainable Resources Development (ESRD) provided river forecasts and communicated with

various partners and clients to help them plan and mitigate the potential risks.

Dillon was contracted to engage the River Forecast Centre (RFC) partners and clients in discussions

regarding the 2013 floods events in order to gain a better understanding of what occurred in each

community, how each group responded, and what they have learned. Dillon coordinated, designed,

facilitated and documented the discussions. This study was meant to provide input from the

perspective of the municipal and community emergency managers and as such include items that are

outside of the direct control of the River Forecast Centre. This report is meant as a guiding document

to be used by the River Forecast Centre to develop an action plan internally, and as a tool for engaging

and influencing their partners and stakeholders on broader issues that could involve change in

policies, governmental structure, and inter-departmental and inter-governmental agreements. Ten

sessions were held throughout Southern Alberta. The sessions took place in:

1. Calgary

2. Canmore

3. Bassano

4. High River

5. Pincher Creek (In Fort Macleod)

6. Lethbridge (In Fort Macleod)

7. Sundre

8. Red Deer

9. Okotoks

10. Medicine Hat

With the help of the RFC team, Dillon designed a workbook to guide the discussion and reach the

team’s goals and objectives. For each session the goals and objectives were as followed:

To engage with various RFC partners groups and clients to understand what occurred in each

community

To share the lessons learned about the flood event

To enroll RFC partners groups and clients in building a path forward together that guides us in

what we might do differently in the future

To explore options, ideas and solutions about improving RFC communications, products and

services


iii


What appears in the Summary Report is a description of the process Dillon undertook together with

members of the RFC, their partner groups and their clients to understand the lessons learned during the

Flood of 2013, the common interests and needs, the recommendations about how to address the

substantive issues, and what future success would look like.


1


1 SUMMARY OF WORK COMPLETED

1.1 Activity 1 - Project Kick-off and Design Meeting

On January 24 2014, Dillon and the RFC team met to design the lessons learned and partner

engagement process. Minutes of the Design Meeting can be found in Appendix A. At the meeting, Dillon

and RFC completed a Situation Analysis and Risk Mitigation exercise and worked collaboratively on

designing the engagement process.

1.1.1 Situation Analysis and Risk Mitigation

The Situation Analysis and Risk Mitigation exercise helped the team identify risks and develop mitigation

strategies. Details of the Situation Analysis and Risk Mitigation exercise are provided in Appendix B.

As shown in Figure 1, identified risks were organized from highest (red) to lowest (green), based on the

probability of occurrence and the degree of their potential consequence/impacts.

Figure 1: Probability and Consequence Impact Matrix


2


In order to mitigate the risks a variety of mitigation strategies were identified and implemented.

Mitigation strategies that were implemented to address the risks:

Develop a background document (“backgrounder”) summarizing the facts on “how we got here”, “what happened” and “what we will be discussing” (in scope and out) in our facilitated sessions.

Develop the common factual story and ensure that all RFC staff who attend understand the facts, resist defending positions and focus on “the future as possibility” by building on the lessons learned.

Strong facilitation in the sessions to ensure we discuss the stories of the past only to understand them, not for agreement about who was right or wrong.

Focus on collaborating on the possibilities and improvements for the future.

Enroll participants in the collaborative process and the possibilities for the future.

Use the Workbook to assist in setting the context, having participants consider their inputs prior to attending the sessions and in capturing inputs to the “questions that matter.”

Roles and responsibilities need to be defined more clearly, “who needs to do what and when”.

Build a telephone contact script. Ask partners how they wish to be consulted.

Develop questions that reveal what partners wish to have and what they need from the RFC in future.

Engage aboriginal communities with an initial phone call, set up separate meetings if they desire or invite them to the local session. Include emergency managers as well as the community leadership in the meetings.

All the mitigation strategies implemented were proved to be successful in ensuring the conversations

were collaborative, respectful, open, and converged on the lessons learned for the future.

1.1.2 Design of the Engagement Process

The second purpose of the design meeting was to scope out how we would work together to co-create

the engagement process. The following actions were identified and subsequently taken.

Development of a draft invitation letter and telephone script.

Coordination of team availability and organization of the sessions.

Development of the Workbook including the background information and questions that matter.


3


1.2 Activity 2 – Engage RFC Partner Groups and Clients

In order to engage and enroll the participants, initial invitation phone calls were made by the RFC staff

and follow-up formal invitation letters were sent by email. At the end of the invitation process a total of

10 meetings were scheduled across southern Alberta. (See Table 1 for details)

Table 1. Facilitated Dialogue Calendar

Location Date

Calgary February 10, 2014

Canmore February 10, 2014

Bassano February 12, 2014

Lethbridge February 24, 2014

Pincher Creek February 24, 2014

Sundre February 27, 2014

Red Deer February 28, 2014

Okotoks March 3, 2014

Medicine Hat March 4, 2014

High River March 7, 2014

Siksika March 14, 2014*

*Note: The meeting in Siksika was un-facilitated; however, participants were met with and provided contact

information.

1.2.1 Facilitated Dialogue

1.2.1.1 Roles and Responsibilities

The roles and responsibilities undertaken by participants in these

dialogues are illustrated in Figure 2. The intention of the RFC and

ESRD was to engage its partners and clients by listening and learning,

gathering inputs and materials and through collaborative problem

solving and exploring options, ideas, and solutions, on how to

improve RFC communications, products and services.

The role of the participants was to provide input, educate the RFC

about what happened in their community, and engage openly in

collaborative problem solving to explore possibilities for future

communications and forecasting processes and protocols.

During each session a facilitator was present to guide the discussions

and ask the questions that matter within the Workbook.

Figure 2: Spectrum of

Engagement


4


1.2.1.2 Guiding Principles

The principles that guided our dialogue (collaborative, respectful, open dialogue, convergence) ensured

that our stories of the past were not about who was right or wrong, but rather, shared for

understanding about “the future as possibility”.

1.2.1.3 The Workbook

The Workbook helped guide participants through the discussions and provided the context for the

dialogue. Dillon was tasked with tracking, documenting and summarizing the responses to the questions

that mattered. The questions posed to guide the discussion during each session included:

Who else needs to be at the table as we design a path forward?

What relevant information does ESRD and the RFC need to know?

What principles should guide our discussions?

What are the substantive issues we need to dialogue about?

What are our interests and needs?

What might success for the future look like?

How do we address the substantive issues together?

1.2.1.4 Information Collected

The sessions also provided an opportunity for the RFC to collect important information about updated

contacts for inclusion in the Flood Notification Manual as well as relevant information from the Flood of

2013 that ESRD and RFC need to know. This information was either collected in the session or

arrangements were made for participants to send the details to Dillon for compilation. See Appendix C a

list of the centres that provided or sent information to Dillon as a result of this request.

The data and information collected will only be used for the purpose for which it is intended which is to

provide ESRD and the RFC with relevant information about the experiences of these communities during

the Flood of 2013 that identifies key thresholds within each community or municipality for use in

Figure 3: Guiding Principles


5


managing future events. The information collected was not intended for sharing with others and

therefore not included in this report.

Updates to the Flood Notification Manual, managed and collected by Dillon, have been sent to the RFC

under separate cover.

1.2.1.5 Commitments Made

During the sessions commitments were made and follow up opportunities were identified. These have

been summarized in Appendix D.

1.2.1.6 Who should be included in the design of a path forward

During the facilitated sessions participants were asked “who else needs to be at the table as we design a

path forward?” Inclusion of local area industry players in the communication process was a common

theme heard throughout the sessions. Local industry played an important role and worked side-by-side

with emergency managers and in some cases used their emergency protocols to support the flood

efforts.

In some sessions it was noted that the dam operators should become an integral part of the two-way

communication protocol because of the importance of the decisions that dam operators may face

during a flood event.

As well, the inclusion of AEMA was noted as an important component in moving forward in designing

the communication protocol.

The summarized list of the proposed groups can be found in Appendix E.

1.2.2 Workbook – Summary Reports

The information, lessons learned, and documentation provided and gathered in the 10 sessions have

been used to form the basis of the individual session Workbook Summary Reports which will provide

guidance to ESRD and RFC. Summary Reports for each session are included in Appendix F.


6


2 LESSONS LEARNED

During the 10 facilitated dialogues common interests, needs, and issues surfaced among the

participants. This section of the report summarizes the substantive issues discussed, the indicators of

success and proposed program changes, projects and tools that could assist the RFC in their ability to

support partners and clients in the future. The area specific substantive issues, indicators of success and

“future as a possibility” points identified during each session can be found in the individual workbook

summary reports in Appendix E.

2.1 Substantive Issues

Seven themes emerged during the sessions. These themes surfaced as substantive issues but were

discussed with the goal of understanding the interests and needs that underlie the issues and concerns.

The seven themes that emerged as substantive issues

1. Support to Emergency Managers:

How to support emergency managers in future events in both the short and long term.

How RFC helps emergency responders manage their constituents.

2. Communications:

How to improve our “two way” communications process and flow.

The type of information that would be most useful to receive from the RFC.

How best to communicate levels of risk to our partners and clients.

3. The balance of uncertainty and level of risk:

How to balance the level of risk against the uncertainty of predictions so that the “cry wolf” syndrome doesn’t result in fatigue and lack of responsiveness.

4. Making data accessible, and understandable:

How to make data easy to understand, useable, visually compelling and how to set a better context based on data so that emergency responders can relay understandable messages, information and knowledge that evokes the most appropriate response.

5. Public awareness and education:

How to bring a better level of understanding, awareness and better information about risk to the public prior to and during an event.

6. Resources, equipment, modelling and instruments to improve monitoring:

Reliability and structural integrity of monitoring gauges and field instruments.

Data delays and online accessibility of data by emergency managers.

Insufficient staffing at the RFC to achieve the increased amount of communication (pre and post event) and information desired by emergency managers.

How to refine and establish new flooding thresholds due to channel changes and erosion as a result of the flood.


7


7. How to engage our aboriginal community neighbours in the planning efforts:

Addressing cross jurisdictional policy issues and government responsibilities to ensure seamless transmission of crucial information during an event.

2.2 Indicators of Success and “Future as Possibility”

The later part of the session was dedicated to looking back from the future (2 years from now) to

determine what new structures or actions could be implemented in order to have addressed the

substantive issues, and what success would look like. The following provides a summary of the

indicators of success and “future as possibility” items identified by theme.

Indicators of Success:

More knowledge, less data and less jargon are conveyed to emergency managers during an event.

Assistance with identifying risks for smaller creeks.

Stronger relationships and alignment with the RFC and partnerships with other jurisdictions, dam operators, irrigation districts, and industry (i.e. Trans Alta, CP/CN).

Water level recession forecasting is provided on request.

Emergency managers have a better understanding of decision processes and responsibilities. Emergency managers have the tools they need (e.g. easy access to RFC data and information).

Flood/river fact sheets for all municipalities have been developed to help them better respond to flood emergencies in their areas. Tools and processes to help with succession planning and new recruits to emergency planning processes are made available.

“Future as Possibility”:

Continue to complete annual updates to the contacts in the FNM – include at this time a review of the RFC/emergency manager roles and responsibilities, communication protocol, contact numbers and key thresholds and review fact sheets as required.

Provide historical information that compares year over year river history.

Use a web application to disseminate information and use an intranet with user access to share real time information more easily.

Provide meaningful and understandable information to emergency managers that allow them to make better decisions and inform their constituents.

Provide emergency managers with the telephone number of the Daily Duty Manager at the RFC so they can communicate anytime and get all weather questions answered.

Theme 1 – Support to Emergency Managers

How to support emergency managers in future events in both the short and long term.

How RFC helps emergency responders manage their constituents.


8


Revise and coordinate the communications flow process and include AEMA.

Provide emergency managers with information about the parameters that are taken into consideration in the modelling process and help them understand the limitations of the model.

Educate emergency managers on principles of dam management.

Encourage emergency Managers to enter into 2-way communications with the RFC about important data that could be shared with others in real time, since they are the “eyes” and “ears” on the ground. Encourage them to call whenever they have questions or feel they do not understand what the data means.

Run models and provide recession forecasting to jurisdictions for post event activities.

Develop protocols (early communications of storm potential) and leverage alternate remote sensing tools (cameras, staff gauges and float gauges) to address the risk and uncertainty around flash floods and need for early warning systems.

Have designated and knowledgeable River Flow Forecasters assigned to specific basins.


9



A connected, interactive, collaborative two way communications system between the RFC and emergency responders.

Early two way communications about where the rain is expected to fall, water levels, thresholds that may be exceeded and comparisons to past years.

Well defined thresholds and terminology that trigger action are in place and are understood by both RFC staff and emergency managers.

RFC works more closely with Irrigation District operators and there is improved information exchange.

Early warnings are received as well as updates about when flood waters are expected to recede.

We will have one voice from the RFC, the province, and Environment Canada. We will work together, and plan together.

Irrigation Districts are included in the communications protocols and are part of the dedicated websites and intranet where reliable information is available.

Effective information in easily understandable ways that help emergency responders understand the RFC operations, communications protocols, forecasting, modelling and advisory, watch and warnings processes are readily available.

One person from the RFC is present in the Provincial Operations Centre (POC).

The RFC is staffed appropriately during an event to ensure communications are both effective and efficient.

Clear and uncomplicated system that defines who to call and ensures that all are receiving the same data is in place.


Build a connected, interactive, collaborative two way communications system and a coordinated regional strategy with others such as regional and provincial partners, dam operators, irrigation districts, local area industry, and Parks Canada. Develop a clear and simplified system that defines who to call and ensures that all are receiving the same data.

Use plain language in all communications and decode the acronyms in materials that are being distributed to emergency managers and the public such as the Figure 4.

Acknowledge the communications process with the POC so that the timely information is able to move from the RFC to the people who need to be making decisions.

Theme 2 - Communications

How to improve our “two way” communications process and flow.

The type of information that would be most useful to receive from the RFC.

How best to communicate levels of risk to our partners and clients.


10


Figure 4: River Forecast Centre - Communication Process

Launch an emergency manager awareness program to improve 2-way communications, team work, and knowledge about the operations of the RFC.

Ensure the dissemination of information from the AEMA and the RFC is coordinated, consistent and contains the same messages.

Define the roles and responsibilities of the AEMA and RFC and ensure emergency managers understand the similarities and differences.

Improve/automate the process so that advisories can be more easily posted to the public in a timely fashion.

Be clear and have communications protocols in place about what the emergency managers need to know, what the public needs to know, what the expectations are and what actions are required.

Articulate well defined thresholds and terminology that trigger action

Develop a back-up communications plan (satellite phones etc.) in the case of loss of telecommunications.

Disseminate effective information in easily understandable ways that help emergency responders understand the operations, forecasting, modelling and the advisory, watch and warnings processes. See Figure 5, for example.


11


Review the need for additional staffing resources to ensure the RFC is appropriately staffed for flood related events and to support the increased demand for communications and training.

Figure 5: River Forecast Centre – Simplified Operations Process


12



The public has a raised awareness, understanding, and a greater tolerance for the uncertainty that goes along with forecasting

Best practices to set trigger points for advancing levels of advisories and warnings are in place and being utilized


Obtain and explore best practices from other jurisdictions to help set trigger points and to better manage the cry wolf syndrome

Develop a communications protocol that balances and respects uncertainty and probability

Launch an annual public awareness and communications campaign to better understand thresholds and triggers, risk and probabilities

Provide early indications of potential risk from RFC that allows for more effective early planning by the emergency managers

Theme 3 - The balance of uncertainty and level of risk

How to balance the level of risk against the uncertainty of predictions so that the “cry wolf” syndrome doesn’t result in fatigue and lack of responsiveness


13



Emergency managers know what the RFC is telling them. Information and knowledge that make the complex data clear and sets it into an understandable context is readily available.

Inundation mapping is available that improves everyone’s understanding of the potential impacts that could result from various flow forecasts.

Accurate and accessible current and historical information in the Flood Notification Manual that compares year over year river history is accessible.

RFC is the keeper of the historical events data.


Provide information and knowledge that makes the complex data clear and concise and set it into an understandable context.

Prepare a visual graphic that overlays the forecast peak water levels and simple graphical representations of the river cross sections to help people understand potential impacts.

To help guide the emergency manager’s decision making process, have static and/or real-time inundation mapping capabilities to give visual context to flow/water level forecasts.

Post images and real time on the ground pictures that help in a 2-way conversation and can be shared with others.

Set data onto a context with pictures, reference points and previous flood data.

Create highly visual, colour coded charts, graphs and visuals to help emergency managers to understand complicated and complex data and easily access the critical information that they need to know to make decisions.

Develop an intranet that emergency managers can access for real-time flow data, flow forecasts, historic threshold information, etc. supplied by the RFC to supplement forecasts and communications given over the phone. The intranet should have the ability to post 2-way comments, pictures, etc.

Verify and validate data early before sharing.

Theme 4 - Making data accessible and understandable

How to make data easy to understand, useable, visually compelling and how to set a better context based on data so that emergency responders can relay understandable messages, information and knowledge that evokes the most appropriate response


14



Raised awareness and understanding from the public about what to do in case of emergency is widespread.

A clear and compelling voice that demonstrates that the “public will” for these changes is strong and is heard.

Better public interface to speed up the dissemination of information is in place.

“Emergency Preparedness Week” will be used to help educate citizens.

Communities have learned to trust everyone involved to make informed and educated decisions.

Data is easy to understand, useable, visually compelling and is set into a better context so that emergency responders can relay understandable messages, information and knowledge that evokes the most appropriate response.


Provide dam operations awareness education to both emergency managers and the public.

Build a culture that weather is unpredictable and that extreme weather events can be difficult to predict and that a certain amount of uncertainty must be tolerated when evaluating level of risk and associated actions. False alarms may be ok from time to time.

Develop public tools to alert people of levels of risk.

Be clear and have communication protocols in place about what the emergency managers need to know and what the public needs to know.

Disseminate information to the public more effectively to keep them informed during an event and give them context that they can understand and action if necessary.

Educate and raise awareness with the public prior to an event. Set the stage so that when an event happens the public will be prepared (e.g., art projects on bridges indicating past flood levels).

Prepare media campaigns to help spread awareness during “Emergency Preparedness Week” across Alberta.

Theme 5 - Public Awareness and Education

How to bring a better level of understanding, awareness and better information about risk to the public prior to and during an event.


15



Better and more robust equipment on the ground with sufficient redundancy.

More reliance on the eyes and ears on the ground to validate the gauge readings.

RFC has advanced communications technology to better facilitate the delivery of forecast messages.

Improved models, modelling processes, and data that feed into the models are readily available from a variety of sources.

Recession forecasting and modelling information to help with repairs and restoration is available.

Common platforms and data interpretation.

More accurate and frequent weather forecasts from multiple reliable sources (federal, provincial and private group) are used in the modelling.

Staff gauges or other visual measuring devices are in place at bridges or other structures to help access water level changes.


Install more structurally robust gauges and equipment. Since the environment is harsh, find the resources to maintain and operate them.

Provide redundancy tools; float gauges that alarm when triggered, cameras combined with staff gauges, doppler radar at bridges, etc.

Install back-up gauges on controlled locations on rivers such as Bassano Dam spillway and Carseland Weir on the Bow River.

Investigate the benefits of ensemble forecasting to ensure that the best technology and data are available for modelling.

Develop a better use of communication technologies such as cell phone apps, GIS capable web interfaces to data, faster more reliable web servers, dedicated emergency manager access to real-time data and forecasts.

Provide early, accurate, and continuous communication about river height data.

Update hydrometric gauge rating curves; if cross sections have changed dramatically, develop hydraulic models to assist in redefining/updating rating curves.

Theme 6 - Resources, Equipment, Modelling and Instruments to Improve

Monitoring

Reliability and structural integrity of monitoring gauges and field instruments.

Data delays and online accessibility of data by emergency managers.

Staffing at the RFC.

How to refine and establish new flooding thresholds due to channel changes and erosion as a result of the flood.


16


Implement static and/or real-time inundation mapping for forecasted flows to give visual context to flow/water level forecasts.

Review the need for additional staffing resources to ensure the RFC is appropriately staffed for flood related events and to support the increased demand for communications, training, modeling support, real time inundation mapping, etc.

Provide the emergency managers with more information about the model used by the RFC. The emergency managers need to understand what parameters are taken into consideration and what are the model’s limitations and have confidence in the parameters.


17



Have access to flood hazard map for aboriginal communities.

Seamless cross jurisdictional responsibilities.

Improved lines of communication with the RFC and access to the data/information.

Additional gauges have been installed where appropriate in consultation with aboriginal communities.


Provide aboriginal communities with access to flood hazard map.

Address and manage cross jurisdictional issues to improve communications.

Improve communication, develop protocols with aboriginal communities, and build an understanding of the RFC and the services provided by them.

Theme 7 - How to Engage our Aboriginal Community Neighbours in the

Planning Efforts

Addressing cross jurisdictional policy issues and government responsibilities to ensure seamless transmission of crucial information during an event.


18


3 CLOSURE

This report was prepared for Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development within the

quality requirements of Dillon Consulting Limited. We trust that the information provided herein is

satisfactory for your present requirements. We thank you for the opportunity to perform this

assignment.

If you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact the undersigned at (403) 215-

8885 ext. 4367

Yours sincerely,


Audrey Lebel Désorcy

Project Manager

ALD:db

/att.

APPENDIX A

Kick-off and Design Meeting

Meeting Date Jan 24, 2014

Time 10:00 am – 4:30 pm

Location Dillon Calgary Office

Participants

• Elita Chan, RFC • Colleen Walford, RFC • David Watson, RFC • Andrew Huang, RFC

• Audrey Lebel Désorcy, Dillon • Barb Samuels, Dillon • David Gould, Dillon • Andrew Chan, Dillon

Agenda and To Do List

Risk Assessment and Mitigation Strategies

Action Assigned to Due Date Update the risk assessment and mitigation strategies Dillon (Audrey & Barb) Jan 31, 2014

Planning of Workshop Sessions

Action Assigned to Due Date

Populate team calendar availabilities • Schedule Canmore before Feb 11, 2014 • Schedule Calgary, High River, Okotoks and

Bassanno before Feb 18, 2014

RFC (Elita) Jan 28, 2014

Draft invitation letter • Potentially including data collection

request RFC (Colleen) Jan 28, 2014

Draft telephone invitation script • Including collection of email address • Including discussion about potential

meeting venues

RFC (Colleen) Jan 28, 2014

Aaron and Elita to discuss: • Aboriginal engagement • Contact information for Siksika • Telephone invitation script

Dillon (Aaron to call Elita) Jan 31, 2014

If possible, find contact information for CP rail Dillon (Dave Poole) Jan 31, 2014

RFC Flood Notification Manual (FNM)

Action Assigned to Due Date

Draft telephone script for FNM update RFC (David) Jan 31, 2014

Send the FNM emergency contact information template/request form to Dillon RFC (Colleen) Jan 31, 2014

Transfer notes on the FNM PDF to the word version Dillon (Admin) Feb 2014

Start updating the FNM with people that are not part of the conversation Dillon (Admin) Feb 2014

Workbook

Action Assigned to Due Date Provide Backgrounder Information

• Text to provide context about how we got here

• Simpler forecasting and communication flow chart


Provide list of relevant information needed by RFC:

• Information to discuss in the room • Information to be collected for future use


Once information received, Dillon to update the workbook and circulate draft to RFC Dillon (Barb & Audrey) Feb 4, 2014

Create area maps for each workshop session RFC (Andrew) TBD

APPENDIX B

Situation Assessment & Risk Mitigation Strategies

River Forecast Centre – Lessons Learned and Partner Engagement

What is the risk? Why is it risk? Probability of

occurrence (hi-med-lo)

Consequence of impact (hi-med-lo) Risk Mitigation Strategy

Confusing accounts reported at our sessions by RFC staff about what actually happened re forecasting and communications during the Flood.

Without a common, but factual story, of what actually happened regarding forecasting and communications, participants may fault and blame and possibly see the opportunity to “divide and conquer.” This will not be productive and leads to “debate” rather than “dialogue” about “common” interests” in going forward.

low med

• Develop a backgrounder document describing the facts about “how we got here”, “what happened” and “what we will be discussing” (in scope and out) in our facilitated sessions.

• Develop the common factual story and ensure (coach) that all RFC staff who attend, understand the facts, resist defending positions and focus on the future as possibility by building on the lessons learned.

Bad press surfacing that faults and blames the RFC, resulting in lack of cooperation and collaboration in the sessions.

Emergency responders may lose confidence in the RFC and there may be a lack of credibility in forward planning.

med hi

• Strong facilitation in the sessions is needed to ensure we discuss the stories of the past only to understand them, not for agreement about who was right or wrong.

• Focus on collaborating on the possibilities for the future.

• Enroll participants in the collaborative process and the possibilities for the future.

Some people may dominate the conversation in the session and others may not participate

Some people in the session may not move beyond their stories of the past.

Need to hear from all perspectives. med med


• Use of the Workbook to assist in setting the context, having participants consider their inputs prior to attending the sessions and in capturing inputs to the “questions” that matter”.

The model for the events process degrades the more serious the event.

More staff and resources may be needed. Processes need to be enhanced for the next time.

med med

• RFC staffs need to build back confidence in themselves to handle these types of events.

• New situation assessment, forecasting and communications processes and protocols need to be added to the model.

• Roles and responsibilities need to be defined more clearly, “who needs to do what and when”.

Some municipalities and communities do not have or have incomplete emergency plans and responses and need to train additional

Lack of consistency and change in personnel.

Lack of ability to respond effectively could have

med

hi

• Not a responsibility of the RFC.

• Lend support, knowledge, wisdom, and assistance in building more

effective emergency response plans with actionable information.

1

Situation Assessment & Risk Mitigation Strategies

River Forecast Centre – Lessons Learned and Partner Engagement

What is the risk? Why is it risk? Probability of

occurrence (hi-med-lo)

Consequence of impact (hi-med-lo) Risk Mitigation Strategy

emergency response personnel. very serious consequences. • Help address the “I don’t know what to do” scenarios.

Participation of Aboriginal communities in the discussion of lessons learned and future possibilities.

Lack of input and knowledge about their experiences and how to enhance the forecasting and communications process for their communities.

med hi

• Build a telephone contact script. • Engage Aboriginal communities with an initial phone call. • Ask them how they wish to be consulted. • Set up separate meetings if they desire or invite them to the local session • Include the Emergency Responder as well as the Community leadership in

the meetings (The past Leadership during the Flood of 2013 if different from the current leadership).

• Develop questions that reveal what they wish to have and what they need from the RFC in future.

The conversations and discussions in the session go beyond the scope of forecasting and communications toward recovery efforts.

Out of scope for these conversations. Not the responsibility of the RFC.

low low

• Strong facilitation skills are necessary.

• The Workbook will outline and provide clarity about what is in and out of scope for these sessions.

Some session may be a difficult conversation due to the severity of the flood. Emotions continue to run high. hi hi


• Focus on collaborating on the possibilities for the future.

• Enroll participants in the collaborative process and the possibilities for the future.

• Use of the Workbook to assist in setting the context, having participants

consider their inputs prior to attending the sessions and in capturing inputs to the “questions” that matter”.

2

Probability and Consequence ImpactMatrix

Consequence/Impact (C)

Prob

ability (P

)

Low

High

HighP C

Lack of Common Story

P C

• Fault & Blame

• Incomplete emergency plans

• Inability to engage aboriginal communities

P C

• Model degrades

• Lack of participation

P CConversation is out of scope

P C

• Difficult conversation due to the severity of the flood

APPENDIX C

List of centres that provided or sent information to Dillon

List of Centres Provided Additional Information - USB key Midland Provincial Park - Alberta Parks Yes

Municipal District of Foothills Yes

Town of Black Diamond Yes

Wheatland County Yes

Red Deer County Yes

MD of Foothills Yes

Bow River Irrigation District Yes

Mountain View County, Yes

Clearwater County Yes

1

APPENDIX D

Additional Commitments Made and Follow-up Opportunities

From the Calgary Session:

♦ No comments or actions.

From the Canmore Session:

♦ RFC to obtain mapping and satellite aerials from other AB department who previously gathered information from Parks.


From the Bassano Session:

♦ County of Newell: provide years that park flooded on Red Deer so threshold can be determined.

From the High River Session:

♦ Town of High River (Reiley McKerracher) to provide the dikes detailed design to the RFC.

From the Pincher Creek Session:

♦ Piikani First Nation: provide RFC with updated maps. ♦ Pat Newmann to provide pictures to the RFC.

From the Lethbridge Session:


From the Sundre Session:

♦ Colleen and Kurt Magnus (Clearwater County) to have a follow-up discussion about boundaries, approvals and permits.

From the Red Deer Session:


From the Okotoks Session:

♦ All organization: provide the RFC with information about ongoing construction projects on the river.

♦ Black Diamond: provide the RFC with information about the new protective wall design. ♦ MD Foothills: provide the RFC with historical flood data to help setting up rainfall gauges alarms.

From the Medicine Hat Session:

♦ Cypress County: Provide RFC with information / maps (ESRI) of where the flooding usually happens. Also provide information about all of the years when they have applied for DRP.

♦ RFC: Provide the Map (showing white and green zone) and their reporting structure (org chart) to the participants.

APPENDIX E


From the Calgary Session:

♦ Alberta Emergency Management Agency—to be part of the development of a coordinated, regionally integrated strategy and delivering unified messaging to emergency managers

♦ Fire/Weather group ♦ City of Calgary communications staff– able to play a role in helping the public understand the

levels of risk and in developing an integrated communications plan with ESRD and RFC for consistent messaging

♦ City of Calgary —there is the political will to assist smaller centers in the region by providing timely information, funding research, allotting resource time, sharing of cameras and sensors since the mandates overlap

♦ Others landowners such as CP/CN ♦ Dam operators such as Trans Alta

From the Canmore Session:

♦ Alberta Emergency Management Agency—to be part of the development of a coordinated, regionally integrated strategy and delivering unified messaging to emergency managers

♦ Avalanche Forecasting System– as a prototype ♦ Fire/Weather group– by providing access to their forecasting and weather data ♦ Others landowners such as CP/CN ♦ Dam operators such as Trans Alta ♦ Town of Banff– offered assistance on their mapping website www.Banffmaps.ca

From the Bassano Session:

♦ Other landowners such as CP/CN ♦ Dam operators such as Trans Alta ♦ Siksika Nation

From the High River Session:

♦ POC ♦ Industry players

From the Pincher Creek Session:

♦ Industry such as Shell ♦ Other landowners such as CP/CN ♦ Dam operators such as Terrance

1

From the Lethbridge Session:

♦ Industries ♦ Other landowners such as CP/CN ♦ Dam operators

From the Sundre Session:

♦ Sundre Petroleum Operators Group (SPOG) - as a valuable resource in the area which could support and help implement the Town’s emergency plans

♦ TransCanada Pipelines– infrastructure and public safety ♦ Canadian Pacific ♦ Shell Canada– have proven to be a valuable resource during an event

From the Red Deer Session:

♦ There are a number of industry players (e.g. Agrium and Nova) in this area who worked side by side with the municipal emergency managers. Many are members of Mutual Aid Alberta in the Lacombe area. As future plans are developed, these players have a role to play, however, the RFC was not seen as responsible to add them to the contact lists in case of an event

♦ AEMA– access to their daily communications sheets ♦ The Water Treatment Plant near Stettler ♦ Alberta Transportation– because of the Ferry in Starland

From the Okotoks Session:

♦ Industries ♦ Other landowners such as CP/CN ♦ All utilities and communication operators (Epcor, Atco, Shaw, etc.)

From the Medicine Hat Session:

♦ Dam operators (including private dam operators) ♦ All utilities and communication operators (Epcor, Atco, Shaw, etc.)

2

APPENDIX F

1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT

Key Objec ves of our Discussions

√ To engage with various River Forecast Centre (RFC) partners groups and clients to understand what occurred in each community

√ To share the lessons learned about the flood event

√ To enroll RFC partners groups and clients in building a path forward together that guides us in what we might do differently in the future

√ To explore op ons, ideas and solu ons about improving RFC communica ons, products and services

What’s Out of Scope

√ Issues related to recovery efforts and post flood mi ga ons

Our Workbook

This Workbook helped guide us through the discussions and provide the context or our discussions together.

The informa on, flood event lessons learned, and documenta on provided and gathered in this Workbook has been used to form the basis of this Summary Report which will provide guidance to ESRD and RFC, and shared with our partners and clients , to define future projects and improvements to products and services.

RFC Partner Groups and Client Discussions about the Flood 2013

Lessons Learned and Op ons for the Future

Loca on: Calgary Calgary Calgary Date: February 10, 2014February 10, 2014February 10, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat

Key Objec ves of Our Discussions







Our Workbook

This Workbook helped guide us through the discussions and provided the context for our discussions together.

The informa on, flood event lessons learned, and documenta on provided and gathered in this Workbook have been used to form the basis of this Summary Report which will provide guidance to ESRD and RFC. The Summary Report will also be shared with our partners and clients to define future projects and improvements to products and services.

2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

Backgrounder:

How did we get here? The June 2013 rain event in Southern Alberta resulted in widespread flooding and serious impacts to a number of communi es. As a result of these events, the River Forecast Team wished to engage its emergency management partners and clients in facilitated dialogues to listen and learn, gain perspec ves, document what happened in each community, and generate a report on the lessons learned and poten al improvements for the future regarding RFC forecas ng and communica ons.

Our Objec ves These sessions were held to allow us to share stories for understanding and included:

√ The sharing of emergency ac ons taken during the flood by each group or area

√ What substan ve issues were faced by each group or area related to the informa on provided and communica on with the River Forecast Centre

√ A compila on of informa on that will help RFC and emergency managers to plan and respond to future events (i.e., exis ng and new areas of concern, changes to river channels, infrastructure damaged, new infrastructure now in place, role of other ESRD groups during the event)

√ What can be improved in the short‐medium and long term to help support local emergency managers through future events

RFC Mandate The mandate of the RFC is to provide Albertans with informa on related to current and future river or river ice condi ons to enable Albertans to make decisions related to water supply, and emergency response planning.

3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

√ City of Calgary √ Town of Cochrane

√ Rockyview County √ Townsite of Redwood Meadows


Those at the table included:

Those organiza ons who a ended the Calgary session on February 10, 2014 included:

As we design new paths forward it was suggested the following groups become involved in the process:

Alberta Emergency Management Agency—to be part of the development of a coordinated, regionally integrated strategy and delivering unified messaging to emergency managers

Fire/Weather group

City of Calgary communica ons staff– able to play a role in helping the public understand the levels of risk and in developing an integrated communica ons plan with ESRD and RFC for consistent messaging

City of Calgary —there is the poli cal will to assist smaller centers in the region by providing mely informa on, funding research, allo ng resource me, sharing of cameras and sensors since the mandates overlap

Others landowners such as CP/CN

Dam operators such as Trans Alta

Roles and Responsibili es

Our roles and responsibili es are illustrated in the Spectrum of Engagement. The inten on of the RFC and ESRD was to engage its partners and clients by listening and learning, gathering inputs and materials and through collabora ve problem solving, explore op ons, ideas and solu ons about improving RFC communica ons, products and services.

The role of par cipants was to provide input, educate the RFC in what happened in their community and engage openly in collabora ve problem solving to explore possibili es for future communica ons and forecas ng processes and protocols.

4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

What relevant informa on does ESRD and the RFC need to know?

The par cipants in today's session agreed to provide the RFC with the relevant infor‐ma on that they requested and would be forwarding the informa on either by e‐mail or on a USB key.

Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul

What principles guided our discussions?

All agreed that we would rest our dialogue on these founda onal principles to converge towards consensus and op ons for the future.

5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

What were the substan ve issues we discussed?


How to support emergency managers in future events in both the short and long term

How RFC helps emergency managers manage their cons tuents

2. Communica ons:

How to improve our “two way” communica ons process and flow

The type of informa on that would be most useful to receive from the RFC

How best to communicate levels of risk to our partners and clients


How to balance the level of risk against the uncertainty of predic ons “so that the crying wolf” syndrome doesn’t result in fa gue and lack of responsiveness


How to make data easy to understand, useable, visually compelling and how to set a be er context based on data so that emergency managers can relay understandable messages, informa on and knowledge that evokes the most appropriate response

5. Public awareness and educa on:

How to bring a be er level of understanding, awareness and be er informa on about risk to the public prior to and during an event


Data delays from gauges and field instruments and online accessibility of the data by emergency managers

Staffing at the RFC

How to refine and establish new flooding thresholds due to channel changes and erosion as a result of the flood

Common pla orms for data and communica ons

7. How to engage our Aboriginal Community neighbours in the planning efforts:

Addressing cross jurisdic onal policy issues and government responsibili es to ensure seamless transmission of crucial informa on during an event

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

What are our interests and needs ? Interests and needs expressed at our February 10, 2014 mee ng included the following list.

What does success look like? Looking back in 1‐2 years from now, par cipants expressed that the indicators of success would be the fulfilling of the interests and needs listed below:

Emergency managers need to know what the RFC is telling them. Informa on and knowledge that makes the complex data clear and sets it into an understandable context.

A connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system and a coordinated regional strategy.

Be er and more robust equipment on the ground.

Broader informa on data base from more sources.

Improved models and modelling process.

Raised awareness and understanding from the public about what to do in case of emergency and have a greater tolerance for the uncertainty that goes along with forecas ng.

Real‐ me inunda on mapping tools.

A clear and compelling voice that demonstrates to our poli cal masters that the “public will” to resource these changes is strong.

Include Aboriginal groups in the communica on process and ensure cross jurisdic on responsibili es are seamless.

Best prac ces to set trigger points for advancing levels of advisories and warnings.

Common pla orms and data interpreta on.

Be er public interface to speed up the dissemina on of informa on.

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Sup

port to

Emergency Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency

managers in future events in bo

th

the short a

nd long

term

Ho

w RFC

helps emergency

managers m

anage their

cons

tuen

ts

Em

ergency managers n

eed to

know

what the

RFC

is te

lling

them

. Informa

on and

know

ledge that m

akes th

e complex data clear a

nd se

ts it

into an un

derstand

able

context

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

(increase com

mun

ica

on of

issue

s occurrin

g up

stream

)

A clear a

nd com

pelling

voice

that dem

onstrates to ou

r po

lical m

asters th

at th

e “pub

lic will” to re

source th

ese

changes is stron

g

Be

st pracces to set trig

ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd data

interpreta

on

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the

FNM, include

at this

me a review

of the

RFC/emergency

manager ro

les a

nd re

spon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica

on protocol,

contact n

umbe

rs and

key th

resholds and

review

fact sh

eets as

requ

ired

B. Provide meaningful and

und

erstandable inform

aon

to

emergency managers that a

llows the

m to

make be

er decision

s and inform

their con

stuen

ts

C. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an

intranet with

user a

ccess to share real me inform

aon

D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Da

ily Duty Manager at the

RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate

anyme and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

E. Encourage em

ergency managers to en

ter into 2 way

commun

ica

ons w

ith th

e RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld

be sh

ared

with

others in real me, since they are th

e “eyes” and

“ears” on the grou

nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call w

hene

ver the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

not und

erstand what the

data

means

F. Need a collabo

rave way to

inform

and

edu

cate (leverage the

resources o

f AEM

A and the City of C

algary to

increase pub

lic

awaren

ess, help distrib

ute FA

Q inform

aon

)

How did we address the substan ve issues together?

8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014


Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way” commun

ica

ons

process a

nd flow

The type

of informa

on

that wou

ld be most

useful to

receive from

the RFC

Ho

w best to

commun

icate levels of

risk to our partners a

nd

clients

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

A. Im

prove/automate the process so that adviso

ries c

an be more easily

posted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in place abo

ut what the

em

ergency managers n

eed to kno

w (h

ow m

uch the riv

er rise (m

eters),

whe

n is th

e pe

ak expected, what is the

uncertainty in

the weather

forecast, etc.) what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w, w

hat the

expecta

ons a

re

and what a

con

s are re

quire

d

C. De

velop floo

d/riv

er fact sh

eets fo

r all mun

icipalies to

help them

be

er

respon

d to floo

d em

ergencies in their a

reas

D. Involve othe

r agencies in the de

velopm

ent o

f a re

gion

al partnership and

strategy th

at is con

nected

, interac

ve, collabo

rave, “tw

o‐way”

commun

ica

ons systems

E. Laun

ch an an

nual emergency managers a

waren

ess p

rogram

to im

prove

two way com

mun

ica

on, team work and increase kno

wledge base abo

ut

the RFC and it’s o

pera

on

9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. The

balance of u

ncertainty and

level of risk

:

Ho

w to

balance th

e level of risk

against th

e un

certainty of predicon

s “so th

at th

e crying

wolf” sy

ndrome do

esn’t result in

fague and lack of respo

nsiven

ess

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of

emergency and have a

greater tolerance fo

r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. Obtain be

st pracces from other jurisdicon

s to he

lp se

t trigger p

oints to m

anage the cry wolf syndrom

e

B. De

velop a commun

ica

ons p

rotocol that b

alances a

nd

respects uncertainty and

probability

C. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd com

mun

ica

ons

campaign to be

er und

erstand thresholds and

triggers, risk

and prob

abili

es

4. M

aking data accessib

le, and

und

erstandable:

Ho

w to

make data easy to und

erstand,

useable, visu

ally com

pelling

and

how

to se

t a be

er con

text based

on data so

that

emergency managers c

an re

lay

unde

rstand

able m

essages, inform

aon

and

know

ledge that evokes the

most

approp

riate re

spon

se.

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

.

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more

sources

Co

mmon

pla

orms

and data

interpreta

on.

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide

emergency managers w

ith clear and

concise

inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context that the

y can easily

unde

rstand

B. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th

e forecast peak water

levels and sim

ple graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross

secon

s to he

lp peo

ple un

derstand

poten

al im

pacts


10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

5. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd edu

caon

:

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er level of u

nderstanding,

awaren

ess a

nd be

er inform

aon

abo

ut risk to

the

public prio

r to and du

ring an

event

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

er pub

lic interface

to sp

eed up

the

dissem

ina

on of

inform

aon

A. He

lp build a culture in

the City and

in th

e region

that weather is unp

redictable and

that a certain

amou

nt of u

ncertainty m

ust b

e tolerated whe

n evalua

ng level of risk

and

associated ac

ons.

False

alarm

s may be ok

from

me to me

B. De

velop a pu

blic to

ols to alert p

eople to levels of

risk

C. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in

place abou

t what the

emergency managers n

eed

to kno

w and

what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w

D. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep

them

inform

ed during an

event and

give

them

con

text th

at th

ey can

und

erstand and ac

on

if ne

cessary, or a

ssist (m

unicipalies play a role in

this)

E. Educate and raise

awaren

ess w

ith th

e pu

blic prio

r to an even

t. Set the

stage so th

at whe

n an

event

happ

ens the

pub

lic will be prep

ared


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

6. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod

elling and instrumen

ts to

im

prove mon

itorin

g

Da

ta delays from gauges

and field instrumen

ts

and on

line accessibility

of th

e data by

emergency managers

Staffi

ng at the

RFC

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish

new

floo

ding

thresholds due

to

channe

l changes and

erosion as a re

sult of th

e floo

d

Co

mmon

pla

orms for

data and

commun

ica

ons

Be

er and

more

robu

st equ

ipmen

t on

the grou

nd

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more sources

Im

proved

mod

els

and mod

elling

process

Be

er inun

daon

mapping

tools

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

A. Co

nnu

e to develop

a be

er use of com

mun

ica

on te

chno

logies su

ch as c

ell

phon

e apps, G

IS capable web

interfaces to

data, fa

ster m

ore reliable web

servers,

dedicated em

ergency manager access to real‐me data and

forecasts

B. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find

the resources to

maintain and op

erate them

since the en

vironm

ent is h

arsh.

C. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols; float g

auges that a

larm

whe

n triggered, cam

eras

combine

d with

staff

gauges, dop

pler ra

dar a

t brid

ges

D. Invesgate th

e value of ensem

ble forecasng

E. Make the bu

siness c

ase why

add

ion

al staff

is a jusfiable expen

se fo

r the

RFC

F. Provide the Em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut th

e mod

el used by

the RFC. The

Emergency managers n

eed to und

erstand what p

aram

eters a

re ta

ken

into con

side

raon

and

what a

re th

e mod

el’s limita

ons a

nd have confi

dence in th

e parameters

G. Explore be

st pracces a

nd perform

ance m

easures

H. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra

ng curves; if cross se

con

s have changed

dram

acally, develop

hydraulic m

odels to assis

t in rede

fining/upd

ang

rang

curves.

Narrowing arou

nd th

e Co

chrane

area of th

e Bo

w River

Area

near the

Cochrane water treatm

ent p

lant and

storm water out flow

s

Redw

ood treatm

ent p

lant– turbidity

City working

on 80

sites


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

7. How

to engage ou

r Ab

original Com

mun

ity

neighb

ours in

the planning

eff

orts

Mapping

of the

se land

s is

requ

ired

Ad

dressin

g cross

jurisdicon

al policy issue

s and governmen

t respon

sibili

es to

ensure

seam

less transm

ission of

crucial informa

on during an

even

t. Cross jurisd

icon

al

respon

sibili

es are se

amless

A. Break do

wn cross jurisd

icon

al issues and

respon

sibili

es fo

r abo

riginal

consulta

on and

emergency respon

se and

obtain the crucial informa

on

that will assist th

ese commun

ies during an

event

B. He

lp emergency managers review and

strengthen

agreemen

ts with

Ab

original com

mun

ies by supp

lying the approp

riate data and

inform

aon


13

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

lgary Februa

ry 10, 2014

Agenda

Mee ng Date: February 10, 2014

Loca on: Calgary—Dillon Consul ng’s Office

200, 334—11 Ave SE, Calgary, Alberta

Time: 8:30 am ‐ 11:30 am

1. Welcome and Introduc ons

Use of the workbook and our approach

Objec ves of our discussions

2. Who needs to be at the table?

3. Backgrounder

How did we get here?

Sharing our stories of the past: what do we need to know?

Lessons learned

4. A call for relevant informa on and documenta on about the flood

Informa on that will increase the RFC understanding of flood impacts and key thresholds

Updates to the Flood No fica on Manual

5. Principles to guide our discussions

6. What are the substan ve issues?

7. What are our interests and needs?

8. What might success look like?

9. How do we address the substan ve issues?

10. Next steps and follow up

1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT RFC Partner Groups and Client Discussions about the Flood 2013


Loca on: CanmoreCanmoreCanmore Date: February 10, 2014February 10, 2014February 10, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014



Those organiza ons who a ended the Canmore session on February 10, 2014 included:


Alberta Emergency Management Agency—to be part of the development of a coordinated, regionally integrated strategy and delivering unified messaging to emergency managers

Avalanche Forecas ng System– as a prototype

Fire/Weather group

Others landowners such as CP/CN


Town of Banff– offered assistance on their mapping website www.Banffmaps.ca

√ Town of Banff

√ Town of Canmore

√ Banff Na onal Park

√

√ Tourism Parks and Recrea on and Culture – Kananaskis Country

√ Bighorn MD 8




4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014


The par cipants in today's session agreed to provide the RFC with the relevant informa on that they requested and would be forwarding the informa on either by e‐mail or on a USB key.

Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul



5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014




How RFC helps emergency managers manage their cons tuents and understand how much me they have for evacua on

How to provide advanced warnings for hikers and campers in K country

How to network the scien sts and resources that are already there

2. Communica ons:




How to manage informa on and align rela onships with other jurisdic ons e.g. (Trans Alta , CP/CN)

How to manage rela onships

Understanding who to call in the communica ons process once the forecas ng is complete





How to tap into other data sources such as Parks Canada.





The need for more local monitoring sta ons

How to refine and establish new flooding thresholds due to channel rela onship changes and erosion as a result of the flood

More data on snow pack modelling and precipita on

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014




A connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system and a coordinated regional strategy with others such as Parks Canada, Fire/weather forecas ng, avalanche forecas ng and snow pack forecas ng and in some cases private weather forecas ng companies.

Be er and more robust equipment on the ground; More local monitoring sta ons.


Improved models and modelling process that use more accurate and frequent weather forecasts.



Assistance with iden fying risks for smaller creeks.

Stronger rela onships with the RFC and alignment and partnerships with other jurisdic ons (i.e. Trans Alta, CP/CN) to share and not control data).

Best prac ces to set trigger points for advancing levels of advisories and early warnings.

More knowledge, less data.

Be er inunda on mapping tools.

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Sup

port to

Emergency Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency


th

the short a

nd long

term

Ho

w RFC

helps emergency managers

manage their con

stuen

ts and

un

derstand

how

much

me they

have fo

r evacua

on

Ho

w to

have advanced

warnings for

hikers and

cam

pers in

K cou

ntry

Ho

w to

network the scien

sts a

nd

resources that a

re alre

ady there

Em

ergency managers n

eed

to kno

w what the

RFC

is

telling

them

. Informa

on

and know

ledge that m

akes

the complex data clear a

nd

sets it into an

unde

rstand

able con

text

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

(increase com

mun

ica

on of

issue

s occurrin

g up

stream

)

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd data

interpreta

on

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the

FNM – includ

e at th

is me a review

of the

RFC/emergency

manager ro

les a

nd re

spon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica

on protocol,

contact n

umbe

rs and

key th

resholds and

review

fact sh

eets as

requ

ired

B. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an

intranet with

user a


aon

C. Provide meaningful and

und

erstandable inform

aon

to


llows the

m to

make be

er

decisio

ns and

inform

their con

stuen

ts

D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of

the Da


RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate

anyme and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

E. Encourage em


ter into 2 way

commun

ica

ons w

ith th

e RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that

could be

shared

with


e “eyes” and

“ears” on

the grou

nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call

whe

never the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

not und

erstand

what the

data means


8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way”

commun

ica

ons p

rocess and

flow

The type

of informa

on th

at wou

ld

be m

ost u

seful to receive from

the

RFC

Ho

w best to commun

icate levels of


nd clients

Ho

w to

manage inform

aon

and

align rela

onships w

ith other

jurisdicon

s e.g. (Trans A

lta , CP

/CN)

Ho

w to

manage rela

onships

Und

erstanding

who

to call in the

commun

ica

ons p

rocess once the

forecasng

is com

plete

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

Stronger re

laon

ships w

ith

the RFC and alignm

ent a

nd

partne

rships with

other

jurisdicon

s (i.e. Trans Alta

, CP

/CN) to share and no

t control data)

A. Im


ries c

an be

more easily po

sted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut

what the


eed to kno

w, w

hat the

pub

lic

need

s to know

, what the

expecta

ons a

re and

what a

con

s are requ

ired

C. Involve othe

r agencies in the de

velopm

ent o

f a re

gion

al

partne

rship and commun

ica

ons strategy that is con

nected

, interacve, collabo

rave, “tw

o‐way” commun

ica

ons

system

s ) , Fire/W

eather group

, Parks Canada, Fire

/weather

forecasng, avalanche

forecasng

and

snow

pack forecasng

D. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess p

rogram

to im

prove tw

o way com

mun

ica

on, team work and increase

know

ledge base abo

ut th

e RFC and it’s o

pera

on


9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014


Op ons/Recommenda ons:

2. Communica ons

To make clear and implement the primary nature of the “two way” communica ons between the RFC and emergency managers

10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. The

balance of u

ncertainty and

level

of risk:

Ho

w to

balance th

e level of risk

against the

uncertainty of

pred

icon

s “so th

at th

e crying

wolf” sy

ndrome do

esn’t result in


nsiven

ess

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd und

erstanding

from

the pu

blic abo

ut what to do

in case

of emergency and have a greater

tolerance for the

uncertainty th

at goe

s alon

g with

forecasng

Be


ger p

oints for

advancing levels of adviso

ries a

nd

warnings

A. Obtain be


s to

help se

t trig

ger p

oints to m

anage the cry wolf

synd

rome

B. De

velop a commun

ica

ons p

rotocol that b

alances

and respects uncertainty and

probability

C. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd

commun

ica

ons c

ampaign to be

er und

erstand

thresholds and

triggers, risk

and

probabili

es

4. M

aking data accessib

le, and

un

derstand

able:

Ho

w to

make data easy to

unde

rstand

, useable, visu

ally

compe

lling

and

how

to se

t a be

er

context b

ased

on data so

that


an re

lay

unde

rstand

able m

essages,

inform

aon

and

kno

wledge that

evokes th

e most a

ppropriate

respon

se.

Ho

w to

tap into other data sources

such as E

nviro

nmen

t Canada

airport d

ata, sa

tellite transm

ission,

water su

rveys o

f Canada

Em

ergency managers n

eed to kno

w what

the RFC is te

lling

them

.

Broade

r informa

on data base from

more sources

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd data

interpreta

on.

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide

emergency managers

with

clear and

con

cise inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context that the

y can easily un

derstand

B. Use m

odels that g

enerate visual cross‐sec

ons that

show

river levels, give context a

nd are easily

unde

rstand

able. U

se inun

daon

mapping

tools to

help m

ake de

cisio

ns

C. Use th

e data from

the ESRD

precipita

on sta

ons

and fire sta

ons a

roun

d Albe

rta


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

5. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd edu

caon

:

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er level of u

nderstanding,

awaren

ess a

nd be

er inform

aon

abo

ut risk to

the pu

blic prio

r to and du

ring an

event

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of

emergency and have

a greater tolerance

for the

uncertainty

that goe

s along

with

forecasng

Be

er pub

lic

interface to sp

eed up

the dissem

ina

on of

inform

aon

A. He


the To

wn and in th

e Re

gion

that

weather is unp

redictable and

that a certain amou

nt of

uncertainty must b

e tolerated whe

n evalua

ng level of

risk and associated

acon

s. False alarm

s may be ok

from

me to me

B. De

velop a pu

blic to

ols to alert p

eople to levels of risk

C. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in place

abou

t what the


eed to kno

w and

what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w

D. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep

them

inform

ed during an

event and

give them

con

text

that th

ey can

und

erstand


awaren

ess w

ith th

e pu

blic prio

r to an

even

t. Set the

stage so th

at whe

n an

event happe

ns th

e pu

blic will be prep

ared


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

6. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod

elling and

instrumen

ts to

improve mon

itorin

g

Da

ta delays from gauges a

nd field

instrumen

ts and

online accessibility of the

data by em

ergency managers

The ne

ed fo

r more local m

onito

ring

sta

ons

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish ne

w floo

ding

thresholds due

to chann

el re

laon

ship

changes a

nd erosio

n as a re

sult of th

e floo

d

More data on snow

pack mod

elling and

precipita

on

Be

er and

more

robu

st equ

ipmen

t on

the grou

nd

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more

sources

Im

proved

mod

els a

nd

mod

elling process

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

Be

er inun

daon

mapping

tools

Assistance with

iden

fying risks fo

r sm

aller creeks fl

ows

due to groun

dwater

A. Co

nnu

e to develop

a be

er use of com

mun

ica

on

techno

logies su

ch as c

ell pho

ne app

s, GIS capable web

interfaces to

data, faster m

ore reliable web

servers,

dedicated em


forecasts

B. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find

the resources to maintain and op

erate them

since the

environm

ent is h

arsh.

C. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols; float g

auges that a

larm

whe

n triggered, cam

eras com

bine

d with

staff

gauges, Dop

pler ra

dar

at brid

ges

D. Invesgate th

e value of ensem

ble forecasng

E. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra


con

s have changed

drama

cally, develop

hydraulic m

odels to

assis

t in rede

fining/upd

ang

rang

curves.

F. Use m

odels that g

enerate visual cross‐sec

ons that sho

w

river levels, give context a

nd are easily und

erstandable. Use

inun

daon

mapping

tools to he

lp m

ake de

cisio

ns (u

nderstand

the po

licy im

plica

ons o

f inu

nda

on m

apping

)

G. Explore be

st pracces a

nd perform

ance m

easures


13

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ca

nmore Februa

ry 10, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Canmore Provincial Building

Room #107, 800 Railway Avenue, Canmore, Alberta

Time: 2:30 pm ‐ 5:00 pm





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT








Our Workbook





Loca on: Bassano Bassano Bassano Date: February 12, 2014February 12, 2014February 12, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014

√ Wheatland County

√ County of Newell

√ Bow River Irriga on District

√ Eastern Irriga on District

√ Western Irriga on District



Those organiza ons who a ended the Bassano session on February 12, 2014 included:

As we design new paths forward it was suggested that the following groups become involved in the process:

Other landowners such as CP/CN


Siksika Na on




4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014



Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul



5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014


1. Support to emergency managers and Dam Operators:

Need for early access to timely and understandable information

What type of information would be most useful to receive

To some emergency operators flow levels are meaningless without a water level context (e.g., it will flood this area)

Operators and emergency managers didn’t know when the event had ended

2. Communica ons:

How to improve our “two way” communications process and flow


Bassano dam, operated by the Eastern Irriga on District, didn't know if the river levels were going to increase and whether they had experienced the worse of the event. The dam operator was concerned about the main dam structure and was close to removing the “fuse plug” (fail safe) which would have taken 4 hours to remove.


How to bring a be er level of understanding, awareness and be er informa on about risk to the public prior to, and during an event

There is a belief by the public that dams and irriga on canals could have done more to control flooding, however this is not the case. Dams and irriga on canals are not designed as flood mi ga on devices



Improved measurement tolls. Add real‐ me monitoring equipment on the Bassano Dam spillway and Carseland weir.

RFC to gain access to EID es mates of flow out of the Bassano Dam

Emergency preparedness

How to avoid significant damage to structures

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014



There is a robust system of gauges with sufficient redundancy.

RFC works more closely with Irriga on District operators and there is improved informa on exchange.

Operators and emergency managers have a be er understanding of decision processes and responsibili es.

Operators have the tools they need and ready access to RFC data and informa on.

Emergency managers understand the informa on RFC is telling them. Informa on and knowledge that makes the complex data clear and sets it into an understandable context.

There is a connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system.

There is an awareness of the poten al flood impact on structures along the river.

Irriga on Districts would like a dedicated website where they can get reliable informa on on river levels and flows

RFC should inform operators and managers when the river event has ended so they can stand down their EOC’s

Need for two urgent flood warning categories, rather that just the one.

Irriga on Districts can help County of Newell iden fy when to evacuate residents.

Need for more robust gauges. Secondary gauges should be installed on dam structures.

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Sup

port emergency managers

and Da

m Ope

rators:

Need for e

arly access to

timely and un

derstand

able

inform

ation

What type of inform

ation

wou

ld be most u

seful to

receive

To

some em

ergency op

erators

flow

levels are meaningless

with

out a

water level con

text

(e.g., it will floo

d this area)

Da

m ope

rators and

em

ergency managers d

idn’t

know

whe

n the even

t had

en

ded

Em

ergency managers

unde

rstand

the

inform

ation RFC is telling

them

. Information and

know

ledge that m

akes th


nd

sets it into an

unde

rstand

able con

text

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels

of adviso

ries a

nd warnings.

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd

data interpreta

on

A. Most h

elpful wou

ld be inform

ation on

whe

ther th

e pe

ak has been

reache

d or if fu

rthe

r rise

is expected. The

re is a need to figure out how

to brin

g closure to th

e flo

od as it m

oves th

rough the system

B. Provide inform

ation early

so th

at emergency managers a

nd irrig

ation

districts can

use it to

make de

cisio

ns.

C. Work together to

develop

con

text fo

r water level and

flow

rate

inform

ation so th

at it can

be clearly

und

erstoo

d based on

past e

vents

and/or kno

wn structures or facilitie

s.

D. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an intran

et

with

user a


aon

E. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the FN

M –

includ

e at th

is me a review

of the

RFC/emergency manager ro

les a

nd

respon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica

on protocol, contact n

umbe

rs and

key

thresholds and

review

fact sh

eets as req

uired

F. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Daily

Duty M

anager at the

RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate anyme and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

G. Encourage Em


ter into 2 way com

mun

ica

ons

with

the RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld be shared

with

others in

real me, since they are th

e “eyes” and

“ears” on

the grou

nd. Encou

rage

them

to call w

hene

ver the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

not

unde

rstand

what the

data means


8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014


Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way”

commun

ications process and

flow

Ho

w best to commun

icate levels

of risk to

our partners a

nd clients

Ba

ssano dam didn’t k

now if th

e riv

er levels were going to increase

and whe

ther th

ey had

expe

rienced

the worse of the

even

t. Th

e dam ope

rator w

as

concerne

d abou

t the

main dam

structure and was close to

removing the “fuse plug” (fa

il safe)

which wou

ld have taken 4 ho

urs

to re

move. If th

e fuse plug was

removed

, the

re wou

ldn’t b

e any

water fo

r close to

5 years while

the dam was re

paire

d

Ba

ssano dam ope

rator called RFC

several mes but didn’t receive a

call back

RFC works m

ore closely

with

Irrig

aon

District

operators a

nd th

ere is an

im

proved

inform

aon

exchange

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

A. The Irriga

on Districts have their o

wn Em

ergency Ope

ratio

ns

Center th

at com

mun

icates to

mun

icipalities. The

re is

oppo

rtun

ity fo

r improved

com

mun

ication.

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut

what the

emergency managers, Dam

Ope

rators , Irriga

on

Districts and

the pu

blic needs to

kno

w, w

hat the

expecta

ons

are and what a

con

s are re

quire

d

C. Co

nsider RFC

role in

the weekly discussio

ns th

at occur with

those who

run the riv

er (Irrigation Districts, TransAlta, City

of

Calgary).

D. Outreach calls to

the op

erators a

nd emergency managers to see

if he

lp is re

quire

d wou

ld be appreciated.

E. There may be op

portun

ities to

stream

line commun

ication.

Curren

tly both the Provincial Ope

ratio

ns Cen

tre and the River

Forecast Cen

tre contact d

am ope

rators with

the same

inform

ation.

F. Im


ries c

an be more

easily po

sted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

G. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al partners a

conn

ected, interacve, collabo

rave, “tw

o‐way”

commun

ica

ons systems a

s well as a

region

al strategy.

H. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess p

rogram

to

improve tw

o way com

mun

ica


know

ledge base abo

ut th

e RFC and it’s o

pera

on

9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd edu

caon

:

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er level of u

nderstanding,

awaren

ess a

nd be

er inform

aon

abo

ut risk to

the

public prio

r to, and

during an

event

There is a be

lief b

y the pu

blic th

at dam

s and

irrig

aon

canals could have don

e more to con

trol floo

ding,

however th

is is not th

e case. D

ams a

nd irrig

aon

canals

are no

t designe

d as floo

d miga

on devices

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

er pub

lic interface

to sp

eed up

the

dissem

ina

on of

inform

aon

A. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in

place abou

t what the


eed

to kno

w and

what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w

B. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep

them

inform

ed during an

event and

give

them

con

text th

at th

ey can

und

erstand

C. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd

commun

ica

ons c

ampaign to be

er und

erstand

thresholds and

triggers, risk

and

probabili

es, and

the role of the

RFC, dam

ope

rators and

the

Irriga

on districts.


10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

4. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod


ts

to im

prove mon

itorin

g

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish ne

w floo

ding

thresholds due

to chann

el changes and

erosio

n as a re

sult of th

e floo

d

Im

proved

measuremen

t tolls. Add

real‐me

mon

itorin

g eq

uipm

ent o

n the Ba

ssano Da

m

spillway and

Carseland

weir.

RFC to gain access to

EID esmates of fl

ow out of

the Ba

ssano Da

m

Em

ergency prep

ared

ness

Ho

w to

avoid significant dam

age to structures

Be

er and

more

robu

st equ

ipmen

t on

the grou

nd

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

A. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find


erate them

since the

environm

ent is h

arsh.

B. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols. Explore integra

ng re

mote

sensing, dop

pler on bridges, floats, cam

eras, etc.

C. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra

ting curves; if cross se

ctions

have changed

dramatically, develop

hydraulic m

odels to

assis

t in rede

fining/up

datin

g ratin

g curves.

D. RFC shou

ld con

sider usin

g existing or placing

gauges on

the dam and

weir structures for m

ore accurate

inform

ation.

E. Da

m ope

rators cou

ld be used

to con

firm level

measuremen

ts


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Ba

ssan

o Feb

ruary 12, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Bassano—Community Hall, Mtg Room #502

2nd Ave., Bassano, Alberta

Time: 8:30 am ‐ 11:30 am





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT








Our Workbook





Loca on: High River High River High River Date: March 7, 2014March 7, 2014March 7, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

√ Town of High River



Those organiza ons who a ended the High River session on March 7, 2014 included:


POC

Industry players




4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014


The par cipants in today's session agreed to provide the RFC with the relevant infor‐ma on that they requested and would be forwarding the informa on either by e‐mail or on a USB key.

Addi onally some organiza on need to provide the following informa on:

Town of High River (Reiley McKerracher) to provide the dikes detailed design to the

Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul



5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014




How RFC helps emergency managers manage their cons tuents

2. Communica ons:




How to best u lise the AEMA’s web applica on to disseminate informa on from the Town versus RFC





Is there a way to reduce the me lag between data being recorder at the sta on and data appearing on the website





Staffing at the RFC

How to refine and establish new flooding thresholds due to channel changes, erosion, and sedimenta on as a result of the flood

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014




A connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system.








7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s 1. Sup

port to

Emergency Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency


th

the short a

nd long

term

Ho

w RFC

helps emergency

managers m

anage their

cons

tuen

ts

Em

ergency managers n

eed to

know

what the

RFC

is te

lling

them

. Informa

on and

know

ledge that m

akes th


nd se

ts it

into an un

derstand

able

context

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

A clear a

nd com

pelling

voice

that dem

onstrates to ou

r po

lical m

asters th

at th

e “pub

lic will” to re

source th

ese

changes is stron

g

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the

FNM, include

at this

me a review

of the

RFC/emergency

manager ro

les a

nd re

spon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica

on protocol,

contact n

umbe

rs and

key th

resholds and

review

fact sh

eets as

requ

ired


und

erstandable inform

aon

to


llows the

m to

make be

er decision

s and inform

their con

stuen

ts

C. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an

intranet with

user a


aon

D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Da


RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate

anyme and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

E. Provide the em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut

the mod

el used by

the RFC. The


eed to

unde

rstand

what p

aram

eters a

re ta

ken into con

sidera

on and

what a

re th

e mod

el’s limita

ons.

F. Ha

ve designated River F

low Forecaster to each basins

G. Encourage em


ter into 2 way

commun

ica

ons w

ith th

e RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld

be sh

ared

with


e “eyes” and


nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call w

hene

ver the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

not und

erstand what the

data

means


8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way” commun

ica

ons

process a

nd flow

The type

of informa

on

that wou

ld be most

useful to

receive from

the RFC

Ho

w best to

commun

icate levels of


nd

clients

Ho

w to

best u

lise the

AEMA’s w

eb app

lica

on

to dissem

inate

inform

aon

from

the

Town versus RFC

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

A. RFC to disc

uss w

ith AEM

A a be

er and

less con

fusin

g way to

dissem

inate

inform

aon

from

the To

wn versus th

e inform

aon

from

the Province.

B. Im


ries c

an be more easily

posted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

C. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut what the

em

ergency managers n

eed to kno

w, w

hat the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w,

what the

expecta

ons a

re and

what a

con

s are re

quire

d

D. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al partners a

con

nected


rave, “tw

o‐way” commun

ica

ons systems a

s well as

a region

al strategy.

E. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess p

rogram

to im

prove

two way com

mun

ica


wledge base abo

ut


pera

on


9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. The

balance of u

ncertainty and

level of risk

:

Ho

w to

balance th

e level of risk

against th

e un


s “so th

at th

e crying

wolf” sy

ndrome do

esn’t result in


nsiven

ess.

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. Provide High

River with

early warning

and

real me

inform

aon

and

they will m

ake their o

wn de

cisio

n in re

gards

to pub

lic no

fica

on

B. De

velop a commun

ica

ons p

rotocol that b

alances a

nd


probability

C. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd com

mun

ica

ons

campaign to be

er und


triggers, risk

and prob

abili

es

4. M

aking data accessib

le, and

und

erstandable:

Ho

w to


erstand,

useable, visu

ally com

pelling

and

how

to se

t a be

er con

text based

on data so

that


an re

lay

unde

rstand

able m

essages, inform

aon

and

know


most

approp

riate re

spon

se

Is th

ere a way to

redu

ce th

e me lag

betw

een data being

recorder at the

sta

on

and data app

earin

g on

the web

site

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

.

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more

sources

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide


ith clear and

concise

inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context that the

y can easily

unde

rstand

B. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th


levels and sim

ple graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross

secon

s to he

lp peo

ple un

derstand

poten

al im

pacts


10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

5. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd edu

caon

:

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er level of u

nderstanding,

awaren

ess a

nd be

er inform

aon

abo

ut risk to

the

public prio

r to and du

ring an

event

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

er pub

lic interface

to sp

eed up

the

dissem

ina

on of

inform

aon

A. He


the To

wn and in th

e region

that weather is unp

redictable and

that a certain

amou

nt of u

ncertainty m

ust b

e tolerated whe

n evalua

ng level of risk

and

associated ac

ons.

False

alarm

s may be ok

from

me to me

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in

place abou

t what the


eed

to kno

w and

what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w

C. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep

them

inform

ed during an

event and

give

them

con

text th

at th

ey can

und

erstand

D. Educate and raise

awaren

ess w

ith th

e pu

blic prio

r to an even

t. Set the

stage so th

at whe

n an

event

happ

ens the

pub

lic will be prep

ared


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

6. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod


ts to

im

prove mon

itorin

g

Da


and field instrumen

ts

and on

line accessibility

of th

e data by

emergency managers

Staffi

ng at the

RFC

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish

new

floo

ding

thresholds due

to

channe

l changes,

erosion, and

sedimen

taon

as a

result

of th

e floo

d

Be

er and

more

robu

st equ

ipmen

t on

the grou

nd

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more sources

Im

proved

mod

els

and mod

elling

process

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

A. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find

the resources to

maintain and op

erate them

since the en

vironm

ent is h

arsh.

B. Install rainfall gauge alarm

s

C. Provide redu

ndancy to


ng re

mote sensing, dop

pler on bridges,

floats, cam

eras, etc.

D. Invesgate th

e value of ensem

ble forecasng

E. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra


con

s have changed

dram

acally, develop

hydraulic m

odels to assis

t in rede

fining/upd

ang

rang

curves. (Dikes d

efining

rela

onship in

High River)

F. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th

e forecast peak water levels and sim

ple

graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross se

con

s to he

lp peo

ple un

derstand

po

ten

al im

pacts

G. Make the bu

siness c

ase why

add

ion

al staff


se fo

r the

RFC

H. Explore be

st pracces a

nd perform

ance m

easures


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—High River M

arch 7, 2014

Agenda

Mee ng Date: March 7, 2014

Loca on: Super 8 1601 13th Ave, High River, Alberta

Time: 1:00 pm ‐ 4:00 pm





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT








Our Workbook





Loca on: Fort Macleod (Pincher Creek)Fort Macleod (Pincher Creek)Fort Macleod (Pincher Creek) Date: February 24, 2014February 24, 2014February 24, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

√ Pincher Creek Area (PCCEMA) √ Piikani First Na on



Those organiza ons who a ended the Pincher Creek session on February 24, 2014 included:


Industry such as Shell


Dam operators such as Terrance




4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014




Piikani First Na on : provide RFC with updated maps and studies in regards to the Crowsnest Highway / Hwy 3 bank erosion.

Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul



5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014




Develop a more efficient way to receive the data

Develop easy and efficient marking system that can be iden fied by emergency managers (staff gauges or similar)

2. Communica ons:




Receive informa on earlier regarding a possible event, use past events as a level of risk indicator

Experienced communica on technology challenges





Need to build standard terminology (e.g., rising quickly, lots of debris, raining hard, levels falling) for emergency managers so they can communicate more effec vely with RFC.



How to be er use the media to get the message out




Lost Brocket gauge and Fort MacLeod gauge is really poor.

7. How to engage our Aboriginal Community neighbours in the planning efforts:

Piikani Na on did not get informa on from the RFC, but from the Dam operators

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014








Provide yearly risk assessments to specific areas.

Quick and more reliable data from urban and rural areas to internal emergency managers and the public.

Raised awareness regarding previous events and how to recognize the signs including RFC developed fact sheets for each municipality.

Jargon free inunda on mapping.

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Sup

port to

Emergency Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency

managers in future events in

both th

e short a

nd long

term

De

velop a more effi

cien

t way to

receive the data

De

velop easy and

efficien

t marking

system

that can

be

iden

fied

by em

ergency

managers

Em

ergency managers n

eed

to kno

w what the

RFC

is

telling

them

. Informa

on

and know

ledge that m

akes

the complex data clear a

nd

sets it into an

unde

rstand

able con

text

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

A clear a

nd com

pelling

voice that dem

onstrates to

our p

olical m

asters th

at

the “pub

lic will” to

resource th

ese changes is

strong

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels

of adviso

ries a

nd warnings.

Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the FN

M –

includ

e at th

is me a review

of the


les

and respon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica


umbe

rs and

key thresholds and

review

fact sh

eets as req

uired

Provide meaningful and

und

erstandable inform

aon

to emergency

managers that a

llows the

m to

make be

er decision

s and

inform

their con

stuen

ts

C. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an

intranet with

user a


aon

D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Da


RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate anyme

and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

E. Ha



F. Encourage em


ter into 2 way

commun

ica

ons w

ith th

e RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld be

shared

with


e “eyes” and

“ears”

on th

e grou

nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call w

hene

ver the

y have

ques

ons o

r feel the

y do

not und

erstand what the

data means


8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

How did we address the substan ve issues together? Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way” commun

ica

ons

process a

nd flow

The type

of informa

on th

at

wou

ld be most u

seful to

receive from

the RFC

Ho

w best to commun

icate

levels of risk to

our partners

and clients

Re

ceive inform

aon

earlier

regarding a po

ssible event,

use past events a

s a level of

risk indicator

Need a reason

able alarm

me to re

spon

d to river

even

ts

Expe

rience commun

ica

on

techno

logy challenges

A conn

ected,

interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way com

mun

ica

ons

system

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. Im


ries c

an be more easily po

sted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut what the

em

ergency managers n

eed to kno

w, w

hat the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w, w

hat the

expe

cta

ons a

re and

what a

con

s are re

quire

d

C. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al partners a

con

nected


rave, “tw

o‐way” commun

ica

ons systems a

s well as a

region

al strategy

D. Provide inform

aon

in a m

ore

mely manne

r to em

ergency managers b

y using past events a

s a risk indicator

E. Re

vise and

coo

rdinate the commun

ica

ons fl

ow process

F. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess p

rogram

to im

prove tw

o way com

mun

ica


wledge base abo

ut th

e RFC

and it’s o

pera

on

G. Explore using satellite pho

nes

H. Co

mmun

icate with

Indu

stry su

ch as S

hell

I. Co

mmun

icate po

ten

al changes in

term

inology (e.g., Floo

d Watch) to Pinche

r Creek as it wou

ld im

pact th

eir e

mergency respon

se plan.

9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014


ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. The

balance of u

ncertainty and

level of risk

:

Ho

w to

balance th

e level of risk

against

the un


s “so th

at th

e crying

wolf” sy

ndrome do

esn’t result in


nsiven

ess

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the

public abo

ut what to do

in case of emergency and

have a greater to

lerance

for the

uncertainty th

at

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. De

velop a commun

ica

ons p

rotocol that b

alances a

nd


probability

B. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd com

mun

ica

ons

campaign to be

er und


triggers, risk

and prob

abili

es

4. M

aking data accessib

le, and

un

derstand

able:

Ho

w to


erstand,

useable, visu

ally com

pelling

and

how

to

set a

be

er con

text based

on data so

that


an re

lay

unde

rstand

able m

essages, inform

aon

and know


most

approp

riate re

spon

se

Need to build standard te

rminology (e.g.,

rising qu

ickly, lots of d

ebris, raining

hard,

levels falling) for emergency managers s

o they can

com

mun

icate more eff

ecvely

with

RFC.

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

.

Broade

r informa

on data

base from

more sources

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd

data interpreta

on.

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide


ith clear

and concise

inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context that the

y can

easily un

derstand

B. This data sh

ould be provided

in a similar fashion

througho

ut

all com

mun

ica

on pla

orms

10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

5. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd

educa

on :

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er level

of und

erstanding,

awaren

ess a

nd be

er

inform

aon

abo

ut risk to

the pu

blic prio

r to and

durin

g an

event

Usin

g the med

ia effe

cvely

to th

e RFC advantage

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic

abou

t what to do

in case of

emergency and have a greater

tolerance for the

uncertainty

that goe

s along

with

forecasng

Prep

are med

ia cam

paigns to

he

lp sp

read

awaren

ess d

uring

“Emergency Prep

ared

ness

Week” across A

lberta

Be

er pub

lic interface to

speed up

the dissem

ina

on of

inform

aon

A. He


the To

wn and in th

e region

that weather is

unpred

ictable and that a certain amou

nt of u

ncertainty m

ust b

e tolerated whe

n evalua

ng level of risk

and

associated ac

ons.

False

alarm

s may be ok

from

me to me

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut what

the em

ergency managers n

eed to kno

w and

what the

pub

lic

need

s to know

C. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep them

inform

ed during an

event and

give them

con

text th

at th

ey can

un

derstand

D. Educate and raise

awaren

ess w

ith th

e pu

blic prio

r to an

event. Set

the stage so th

at whe

n an

event happe

ns th

e pu

blic will be

prep

ared

.

E. Use Emergency Prep

ared

ness week to help ed

ucate pu

blic


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

6. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod


ts to

im

prove mon

itorin

g

Da


and field instrumen

ts and

on

line accessibility of the

data by em

ergency

managers

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish

new floo

ding

thresholds

due to chann

el changes

and erosion as a re

sult of

the floo

d

Co

mmon

pla

orms for

data and

com

mun

ica

ons

Lost Brocket gauge and

Fort M

acLeod

gauge is

really poo

r.

Be

er and

more robu

st

equipm

ent o

n the

grou

nd

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more

sources

Im

proved

mod

els a

nd

mod

elling process

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

A. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find

the resources

to m

aintain and op

erate them

since the en

vironm

ent is h

arsh.


s

C. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols; float g

auges that a

larm

whe

n triggered, cam

eras

combine

d with

staff

gauges, Dop

pler ra

dar a

t brid

ges

D. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra


con

s have changed

dram

acally, develop

hydraulic m

odels to assis

t in rede

fining/upd

ang

ra

ng curves.


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

7. How

to engage ou

r Abo

riginal

Commun

ity neighbo

urs in the

planning

effo

rts

Mapping

of the

se land

s is

requ

ired

Ad

dressin

g cross jurisd

icon

al

policy issue

s and

governm

ent

respon

sibili

es to

ensure

seam

less transm

ission of

crucial informa

on during an

even

t. Cross jurisd

icon

al

respon

sibili

es are se

amless

A. Break do

wn cross jurisd

icon

al issues and

respon

sibili

es fo

r Ab

original con

sulta

on and

emergency respon

se and

obtain the

crucial informa

on th

at will assist th

ese commun

ies during an

even

t

B. Provide aboriginal com

mun

ies with

access to floo

d hazard m

ap

C. Co

mmun

icate po

ten

al floo

d warnings a

nd risk to

Piikani N

aon


13

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Pinche

r Creek

Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Lethbridge Northern Headworks Office

NE 26‐9‐26 W4M

Time: 1:30pm—4:30pm





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT RFC Partner Groups and Client Discussions about the Flood 2013


Loca on: Fort Macleod (Lethbridge)Fort Macleod (Lethbridge)Fort Macleod (Lethbridge) Date: February 24, 2014February 24, 2014February 24, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

√ Town of Fort Macleod √ City of Lethbridge √ County of Lethbridge √ Taber County

√ Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation √ Municipal District of Willow Creek √ LNID √ SMRID



Those organiza ons who a ended the Lethbridge session on February 24, 2014 included:


Industries


Provincial dam operators




4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014



Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul



5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014




Develop a more efficient way to receive the data

Focus on educa ng before an event occurs

Develop easy and efficient marking system that can be iden fied by emergency managers

2. Communica ons:




Receive informa on earlier regarding a possible event, use past events as a level of risk indicator

“One voice” from the RFC, the Province, and Environment Canada



Learn to trust everyone involved to make informed and educated decisions


How to make data easy to understand, useable, visually compelling and how to set a be er context based on data so that emergency managers can relay understandable messages, informa on and knowledge that evokes the most appropriate response.

How to improve the lag me between data being collected in the field and data being accessible on the website



Using “Emergency Preparedness Week” to help educate ci zens

Using the media effec vely to the RFC advantage



Discuss with all available stakeholders regarding changes to land

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014




A connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system and a coordinated regional strategy including a internal website for emergency members only.


Quick and more reliable data from urban and rural areas.

Improved models and modelling process. Refine travel mes rou ng from the Oldman Dam.


“One” voice from the RFC, the Province, and Environment Canada.

Improved lag me between data being collected in the field and data being accessible on the website

Work together and plan together.

The use of simple data collec on tools such as staff gauges at bridges with cameras.

Include one person from the RFC in the POC.

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Sup

port to

Emergency

Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency


both th

e short a

nd long

term

Ho

w RFC

helps emergency

managers m

anage their

cons

tuen

ts

Em

ergency managers n

eed to

know

what the

RFC

is te

lling

them

. Informa

on and

know

ledge that m

akes th


nd se

ts it

into an un

derstand

able con

text

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

(increase com

mun

ica

on of

issue

s occurrin

g up

stream

)

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd data

interpreta

on

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the

FNM, include

at this

me a review

of the

RFC/emergency

manager ro

les a

nd re

spon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica

on protocol,

contact n

umbe

rs and

key th

resholds and

review

fact sh

eets as

requ

ired


und

erstandable inform

aon

to


llows the

m to

make be

er decision

s and inform

their con

stuen

ts

C. Encourage em


ter into 2 way

commun

ica

ons w

ith th

e RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld

be sh

ared

with


e “eyes” and


nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call w

hene

ver the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

not und

erstand what the

data

means

D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Da


RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate

anyme and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

E. Re

vise and

coo

rdinate the commun

ica

ons fl

ow process

F. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an

intranet with

user a


aon


8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way”

commun

ica

ons p

rocess and

flow

The type

of informa

on th

at

wou

ld be most u

seful to receive

from

the RFC

Ho

w best to commun

icate levels

of risk to

our partners a

nd

clients

Re

ceive inform

aon

earlier

regarding a po

ssible event, use

past events a

s a level of risk

indicator

“O

ne voice” from

the RFC, th

e province, and

Enviro

nmen

t Canada

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system and

a

coordinated region

al strategy

Be


ger p

oints

for a

dvancing

levels of adviso

ries

and warnings

A. Im


ries c

an be

more easily po

sted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

B. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al partners a

conn


rave, “tw

o‐way”

commun

ica

ons systems a

s well as a

region

al strategy.

C. Provide inform

aon

in a m

ore

mely manne

r to em

ergency

managers b

y using past events a

s a risk indicator

D. Ha

ve a con

sistent com

mun

ica

on style and protocol

betw

een all agencies

E. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut

what the


eed to kno

w, w

hat the

pu

blic needs to

kno

w, w

hat the

expecta

ons a

re and

what

acon

s are re

quire

d

F. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess p

rogram

to im

prove tw

o way com

mun

ica

on, team work and

increase kno

wledge base abo

ut th

e RFC and it’s o

pera

on


9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014


Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. The

balance of u

ncertainty and

level of risk

:

Ho

w to

balance th

e level of risk

against th

e un


s “so th

at th

e crying

wolf”

synd

rome do

esn’t result in fa

gue and lack of

respon

siven

ess

Learn to trust e

veryon

e involved

to m

ake inform

ed

and ed

ucated

decision

s

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. De

velop a commun

ica

ons p

rotocol that b

alances

and respects uncertainty and

probability

B. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd

commun

ica

ons c

ampaign to be

er und

erstand

thresholds and

triggers, risk

and

probabili

es

4. M

aking data accessib

le, and

und

erstandable:

Ho

w to


erstand, useable,

visually com

pelling

and

how

to se

t a be

er con

text

based on

data so th

at emergency managers c

an re

lay

unde

rstand

able m

essages, inform

aon

and

kno

wledge

that evokes the

most a

ppropriate re

spon

se.

Ho

w to

improve the lag

me be

tween data being

collected

in th

e field and data being

accessib

le on the

web

site

Use similar jargon/term

s over the

years to

ensure

unde

rstand

ing

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

.

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more

sources

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd

data interpreta

on.

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide


ith

clear a

nd con

cise inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context

that th

ey can

easily und

erstand

B. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th

e forecast

peak water levels and sim

ple graphical

represen

taon

s of the

river cross se

con

s to he

lp

peop

le und

erstand po

ten

al im

pacts

C. De

velop an

internal web

site that provide

s the

requ

ired inform

aon

to only those who

needs it

10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

5. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd edu

caon

:

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er level of

unde

rstand

ing, awaren

ess a

nd be

er

inform

aon

abo

ut risk to

the pu

blic prio

r to

and du

ring an

event

Usin

g “Emergency Prep

ared

ness W

eek” to

he

lp edu

cate cizens

Usin

g the med

ia effe

cvely to

the RFC

advantage

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic

abou

t what to do

in case of

emergency and have a greater

tolerance for the

uncertainty

that goe

s along

with

forecasng

Be

er pub

lic interface to sp

eed

up th

e dissem

ina

on of

inform

aon

He


the City and

in th

e Re

gion

that

weather is unp

redictable and

that a certain amou

nt

of uncertainty m

ust b

e tolerated whe

n evalua

ng

level of risk

and

associated ac

ons. False alarm

s may

be ok from

me to me

Develop a pu

blic to

ols to alert p


C. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in place

abou

t what the


eed to kno

w

and what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w

D. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep

them

inform

ed during an

event and

give them

context that the

y can un

derstand


awaren

ess w

ith th

e pu

blic prio

r to

an event. Set th

e stage so th

at whe

n an

event

happ

ens the

pub

lic will be prep

ared

F. Prep

are med

ia cam

paigns to

help spread

awaren

ess

durin

g “Emergency Prep

ared

ness W

eek” across

Albe

rta


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

6. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod


ts

to im

prove mon

itorin

g

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish

new

floo

ding

thresholds due

to

channe

l changes and

erosion as a re

sult of th

e floo

d

Discuss w

ith all available

stakeh

olde

rs re

garding

changes to land

Be

er and

more

robu

st equ

ipmen

t on

the grou

nd

Broade

r inform

aon

data

base from

more

sources

Im

proved

mod

els

and mod

elling

process

Be

st pracces to

set trig

ger p

oints

for a

dvancing

levels of adviso

ries

and warnings.

A. Co

nnu

e to develop

a be

er use of com

mun

ica

on te

chno

logies su

ch as c

ell

phon

e apps, G

IS capable web

interfaces to

data, fa

ster m

ore reliable web

servers,

dedicated em


forecasts

B. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find

the resources to

maintain and op

erate them

since the en

vironm

ent is h

arsh.

C. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols; float g

auges that a

larm

whe

n triggered, cam

eras

combine

d with

staff

gauges, Dop

pler ra

dar a

t brid

ges

D. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra


con

s have changed dram

acally,

develop hydraulic m

odels to assist in rede

fining/upd

ang

rang

curves.

E. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th

e forecast peak water levels and sim

ple

graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross se

con

s to he

lp peo

ple un

derstand

po

ten

al im

pacts

F. Provide the Em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut th

e mod

el used by

the RFC. The


eed to und

erstand what p

aram

eters a

re ta

ken

into con

side

raon

and

what a

re th

e mod

el’s limita

ons a

nd have confi

dence in th

e parameters

G. Explore be

st pracces a

nd perform

ance m

easures

H. Invesgate ways to increase how

quickly data is brou

ght into the database from

the field.


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Lethbridge Feb

ruary 24, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Lethbridge Northern Headworks Office

NE 26‐9‐26 W4M

Time: 1:30pm—4:30pm





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014



Loca on: Sundre Sundre Sundre Date: February 27, 2014February 27, 2014February 27, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat

SUMMARY REPORT








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014

√ Town of Sundre √ Clearwater County √ Mountain View County (Westward Ho

Campground)

√ Sundre RCMP √ Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation (Red Lodge

Provincial Park)



Those organiza ons who a ended the Sundre session on February 27, 2014 included:


Sundre Petroleum Operators Group (SPOG) ‐ as a valuable resource in the area which could support and help implement the Town’s emergency plans

TransCanada Pipelines– infrastructure and public safety

Canadian Pacific

Shell Canada– have proven to be a valuable resource during an event




4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014

What principles guided our discussions on February 27/14?


Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul



5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014





Be er informa on about local area and river history in the Flood No fica on Manual

2. Communica ons:


Ini al communica ons breakdowns

Different data numbers being quoted from mul ple sources

Understanding who to call in the communica ons process

The importance of understanding past events as they provide reference for the future

3. Making data accessible and understandable:


Flow data not providing what EOC and emergency managers need to know

Threshold and historical data availability

Reliable and trustworthy data to assist in making the decision to evacuate

Recession forecas ng


Be er assump ons about weather forecasts and precipita on as inputs into the model that improves decision making outputs

Using rainfall as a predictor that starts early alarms and ac ons



Be er and more robust gauges and sensors that record height of water and real me condi ons

Lack of trust in the accuracy of gauges and sensors (e.g., Red Deer River below Brunt Tiber Creek)

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014




Be er and more robust and accurate gauges and sensor equipment on the ground.

More reliance on the eyes and ears on the ground to validate the gauge readings.

A connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system between the RFC and emergency managers who are the eyes and ears on the ground that share data both up and downstream.

Use of advanced technology such as dedicated websites, portals, and apps to connect the EOCs and Emergency managers with online data and important informa on.


Accurate and accessible current and historical informa on in the Flood No fica on Manual that compares year over year river history.

Early two way communica ons about where the rain is falling, heights of water that are approaching thresholds and comparisons to past years.


Tools and processes to help with succession planning and new recruits to emergency planning processes.

Informa on about boundaries, approvals, and permits– Colleen will follow up with Kurt Magnus, Clearwater County.

Recession forecas ng to help with repairs and restora on.

Early, accurate and con nuous communica on about river height data. Clear and uncomplicated system that defines who to call and ensures that all are receiving the same data.

Inunda on mapping is available that improves everyone’s understanding of the poten al impacts that could result from various flow forecasts

Increased level of details is provided in the forecasters comments

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Supp

ort to Em

ergency

Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency

managers in future events

in both the short a

nd long

term

Ho

w RFC

helps emergency

managers m

anage their

cons

tuen

ts

Em

ergency managers n

eed

to kno

w what the

RFC

is

telling

them

. Informa

on and

know

ledge that m

akes th


nd se

ts

it into an un

derstand

able

context

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

(increase com

mun

ica

on of

issue

s occurrin

g up

stream

)

A clear a

nd com

pelling

voice

that dem

onstrates to ou

r po

lical m

asters th

at th

e “pub

lic will” to re

source

these changes is stron

g

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd data

interpreta

on

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the FN

M,

includ

e at th

is me a review

of the


les

and respon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica


umbe

rs and

key thresholds and

review

fact sh

eets as req

uired


und

erstandable inform

aon

to emergency

managers that a

llows the

m to

make be

er decision

s and

inform

their

cons

tuen

ts

C. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an

intranet with

user a


aon

D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Da


RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate anyme

and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

E. Encourage em


ter into 2 way com

mun

ica

ons

with

the RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld be shared

with

others

in re

al me, since they are th

e “eyes” and

“ears” on

the grou

nd.

Encourage them

to call w

hene

ver the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

no

t und

erstand what the

data means

F. Early

warnings

G. Re

cession forecasng

and

mod

elling inform

aon

to help with

repairs

and restora

on

H. Accurate and

accessib

le current and

historical inform

aon

in th

e Floo

d No

fica

on M

anual that com

pares y

ear o

ver y

ear river history

I. To

ols a

nd processes to

help with

successio

n planning

and

new

recruits to

emergency planning

processes

How did we address the substan ve together?

8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014

How did we address the substan ve together?

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way”

commun

ica

ons p

rocess and

flow

Inial com

mun

ica

ons b

reakdo

wns

Diffe

rent data nu

mbe

rs being

quo

ted from

mul

ple sources

Und

erstanding

who

to call in the

commun

ica

ons p

rocess

The im

portance of u

nderstanding

past

even

ts as the

y provide reference for the

future

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

Early

, accurate, and

mely

inform

aon

A. Early

two way com

mun

ica

ons a

bout whe

re th

e rain

is falling, heights of w

ater th

at are app

roaching

thresholds and

com

parison

s to past years

B. Early

, accurate and con

nuou

s com

mun

ica

on abo

ut

river height d

ata

C. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in place

abou

t what the


eed to kno

w,

what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w, w

hat the

expe

cta

ons a

re and

what a

con

s are re

quire

d

D. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al

partne

rs a con

nected

, interac

ve, collabo

rave, “tw

o‐w

ay” commun

ica

ons systems a

s well as a

region

al

strategy.

E. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess

program to

improve tw

o way com

mun

ica

on, team

work and increase kno

wledge base abo

ut th

e RFC and

it’s o

pera

on

9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014



2. Communica ons


10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. M

aking data accessib

le and

und

erstandable

The type

of informa

on th

at wou

ld be most

useful to

receive from

the RFC

Flow

data no

t providing

what E

OC and


eed to kno

w


Re

liable and trustw

orthy data to

assist in

making the de

cisio

n to evacuate

Re

cession forecasng

Em

ergency managers n

eed to

know

what the

RFC

is te

lling

them

.

Broade

r informa

on data base

from

more sources

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd data

interpreta

on.

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide

emergency managers

with

clear and

con

cise inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context that the

y can easily un

derstand

B. Use of advanced techno

logy su

ch as d

edicated

web

sites, portals, and

app

s to conn

ect the

EOCs

and Em

ergency managers w

ith online data and

im

portant informa

on


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014


Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

4. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod

elling and

instrumen

ts to

improve mon

itorin

g

Be

er assum

pon

s abo

ut fo

recasts a

nd

precipita

on as inp

uts into the mod

el th

at

improves decision

making ou

tputs

Usin

g rainfall as a predictor th

at starts early

alarms a

nd acon

s

Da


nd field instrumen

ts

and on


data by

em

ergency managers

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish ne

w floo

ding

thresholds due

to chann

el re

laon

ship changes

and erosion as a re

sult of th

e floo

d

Be

er and

more robu

st gauges a

nd se

nsors

that re

cord height o

f water and

real me

cond

ion

s

Lack of trust in

the accuracy of gauges a

nd

sensors

Be

er and

more robu

st

equipm

ent o

n the grou

nd

Broade

r informa

on data base

from

more sources

Im

proved

mod

els a

nd

mod

elling process

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

A. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd

equipm

ent. Find

the resources to maintain and

operate them

since the en

vironm

ent is h

arsh.

B. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols; float g

auges that a

larm

whe

n triggered, cam

eras com

bine

d with

staff

gauges, D

oppler ra

dar a

t brid

ges

C. Invesgate th

e value of usin

g en

semble weather

forecasts

D. Make the bu

siness c

ase why

add

ion

al staff

is a

jusfiable expen

se fo

r the

RFC

E. Explore be

st pracces a

nd perform

ance m

easures

F. More reliance on

the eyes and

ears o

n the grou

nd

to validate the gauge readings

G. Be


ger p

oints for advancing

levels of adviso

ries a

nd warnings

H. Im

proved

mod

els a

nd m

odelling process

I. More accurate weather inform

aon

12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Sund

re Feb

ruary 27, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Best Western Sundre

706 Main Avenue E, Sundre, Alberta

Time: 1:30 pm ‐ 4:30 pm





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014



Loca on: Red Deer Red Deer Red Deer Date: February 28, 2014February 28, 2014February 28, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat

SUMMARY REPORT








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014


Those who a ended the session included:





There are a number of industry players (e.g. Agrium and Nova) in this area who worked side by side with the municipal emergency managers. Many are members of Mutual Aid Alberta in the Lacombe area. As future plans are developed, these players have a role to play, however, the RFC was not seen as responsi‐ble to add them to the contact lists in case of an event

AEMA– RFC could leverage AEMA’s morning sit‐rep

The Water Treatment Plant near Ste ler

Alberta Transporta on– because of the Ferry in Starland

√ Red Deer County √ Lacombe County √ Stettler County √ Kneehill County √ Starland County 6 √ Alberta Agriculture and Food Brooks/Strathmore √ Town of Drumheller

√ Alberta Transportation Drumheller √ Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation (Midland

Provincial Park) √ Special Areas 2, 3 and 4 √ Village of Empress √ Acadia MD 34 √ Alberta Emergency Management Agency

Those organiza ons who a ended the Red Deer session on February 28, 2014 included:

4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014





Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul

5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014




Early indica on of poten al risk from RFC so that effec ve planning can occur

Knowing when the event is ending which is just as important as knowing when it starts

Be er informa on about local area and river history in the Flood No fica on Manual

Water and waste water impacts from the City of Red Deer

Inclusion of water height levels and past years comparisons in RFC communica ons

Mapping data from RFC i.e. inunda on mapping

More details in RFC communica ons (e.g new forecast, why the forecast has changed what people are seeing)

2. Communica ons:

How to improve our early “two way” communica ons process and flow including common messages with dam operators

Prepping for one scenario but experiencing another

Different data numbers being quoted from mul ple sources such as the Dickson dam.

Ini al communica ons breakdowns, mely forecas ng and communica ons

Coordinate future planning efforts between and among Ministries to move forward together

Industry is a key stakeholder; they need to be included in some way in the communica ons chain

3. Making data accessible and understandable:

Be er use of technology to receive and send data (apps, tex ng, web sites)

River height as noted by markings is important 2 way communica ons that can be shared


Reliable and trustworthy data to assist in making the decision to evacuate

Recession forecas ng

Tributary data




Be er and more robust gauges and sensors that record height of water and real me condi ons. Lack of trust in the accuracy of gauges and sensors

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014




Be er and more robust and accurate gauges and sensor equipment on the ground. More reliance on the eyes and ears on the ground to validate the gauge readings.

A connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system between the RFC and emergency managers who are the eyes and ears on the ground that share data both up and downstream.

Use of advanced technology such as dedicated and faster websites, portals, tex ng capabili es, and apps to send receive, and connect the EOCs and Emergency managers with online data and important informa on.

Inunda on mapping is available that improves everyone’s understanding of the poten al impacts that could result from various flow forecasts

Accurate and accessible current and historical informa on in the Flood No fica on Manual that compares year over year river history. RFC could be the keepers of the historical events data.

Early two way communica ons about where the rain is falling, heights of water that are approaching thresholds and comparisons to past years. Well defined thresholds and terminology that trigger ac on.

Development of an emergency management share point similar to the Avalanche group.

Early indica on of poten al risk data from RFC that allows for more effec ve planning.

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Supp

ort to Em

ergency Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency managers in

future events in bo

th th

e short a

nd long

term

Early

indica

on of p

oten

al risk from

RFC

so

that effe

cve plann

ing can occur

Kn

owing whe

n the even

t is e

nding which is

just as impo

rtant a

s kno

wing whe

n it starts

Be

er inform

aon

abo

ut local area and riv

er

history in th

e Floo

d No

fica

on M

anual

Water and

waste water im

pacts from th

e City

of Red

Deer

Inclusion of water height levels a

nd past years

comparison

s in RFC commun

ica

ons

Inun

daon

mapping

More de

tails in

RFC

com

mun

ica

ons (e.g.,

new fo

recast, w

hy th

e forecast has changed

what p

eople are seeing)

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

. Inform

aon

and

know

ledge that m

akes th


nd

sets it into an

unde

rstand

able con

text

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd

data interpreta

on

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the

FNM, include

at this

me a review

of the

RFC/emergency

manager ro

les a

nd re

spon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica

on protocol,

contact n

umbe

rs and

key th

resholds and

review

fact sh

eets

as re

quire

d


und

erstandable inform

aon

to


llows the

m to

make be

er

decisio

ns and

inform

their con

stuen

ts

C. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use

an intranet with

user a


aon

D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of

the Da


RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun

icate

anyme and get a

ll weather que

son

s answered

.

E. Encourage em


ter into 2 way

commun

ica

ons w

ith th

e RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that

could be

shared

with


e “eyes” and

“ears” on

the grou

nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call

whe

never the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

not

unde

rstand

what the

data means

F. Early

warnings a

nd early indica

on of p

oten

al risk data

from

RFC

G. Accurate and

accessib

le current and

historical inform

aon

in

the Floo

d No

fica

on M

anual that com

pares y

ear o

ver y

ear

river history

H. RFC could be

the keep

ers o

f the

historical events d

ata

I. Inun

daon

mapping

is available


8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014


ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r early “tw

o way”

commun

ica

ons p

rocess and

flow

includ

ing

common

messages w

ith dam

ope

rators

Prep

ping

for o

ne sc

enario but experiencing

anothe

r

Diffe

rent data nu

mbe

rs being

quo

ted from

mul

ple sources such as th

e Dickson dam.

Inial com

mun

ica

ons b

reakdo

wns,

mely

forecasng

and

com

mun

ica

ons

Co

ordinate fu

ture plann

ing eff

orts between and

amon

g Ministries to move forw

ard together

Indu

stry is a key stakeh

olde

r; they need to be

includ

ed in

some way in

the commun

ica

ons c

hain

A conn

ected,

interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons

system

A. Im


ries c

an

be m

ore easily po

sted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in place

abou

t what the


eed to kno

w,

what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w, w

hat the

expecta

ons

are and what a

con

s are re

quire

d

C. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al

partne

rs a con

nected

, interac

ve, collabo

rave, “tw

o‐way” commun

ica

ons systems a

s well as a

region

al

strategy.

D. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess

program to

improve tw

o way com

mun

ica

on, team

work and increase kno

wledge base abo

ut th

e RFC and

it’s o

pera

on

E. Early

, accurate and con

nuou

s com

mun

ica

on abo

ut

river height d

ata. Clear and

uncom

plicated

system

that

define

s who

to call and

ensures th

at all are receiving

the same data

F. Furthe

r disc

ussio

ns abo

ut how

local ind

ustry can be

includ

ed in

future plann

ing

G. Well defi

ned thresholds and

term

inology that trigger

acon

9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014



2. Communica ons


10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. M

aking data accessib

le and

un

derstand

able

Be

er use of techn

ology to re

ceive

and send

data (app

s, te

xng, w

eb

sites)

River h

eight a

s noted

by markings is

impo

rtant 2

way com

mun

ica

ons that

can be

shared

Threshold and historical data

availability

Re

liable and trustw

orthy data to

assist

in m

aking the de

cisio

n to evacuate

Re

cession forecasng

Tributary data

Em

ergency managers n

eed

to kno

w what the

RFC

is

telling

them

Easy access to clear,

trustw

orthy, and

un

derstand

able data

RFC maintains historical data

A. Inform

aon

and

kno

wledge that m

akes th

e complex data clear

and sets it into an un

derstand

able con

text

B. Use of advanced techno

logy su

ch as d

edicated

and

faster

web

sites, passw

ord protected po

rtals, and

app

s to se

nd,

receive and conn

ect the

EOCs and

Emergency managers w

ith

online data and

impo

rtant informa

on

C. Ab

ility to

post 2

way com

men

ts

D. De

velopm

ent o

f an em

ergency managem

ent share point

similar to the Av

alanche grou

p

E. Set d

ata on

to a con

text with

pictures, re

ference po

ints and

previous floo

d data

F. Ve

rify and validate data early before sharing


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

4. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod

ellin

g an

d instrumen

ts to

improve mon

itorin

g:

Da


nd field

instrumen

ts and

online accessibility

of th

e data by em

ergency managers

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish ne

w

floo

ding

thresholds due

to chann

el

rela

onship changes and

erosio

n as a

result of th

e floo

d

Be

er and

more robu

st gauges a

nd

sensors that record he

ight of w

ater

and real me cond

ion

s. Lack of trust

in th

e accuracy of gauges a

nd se

nsors

Be

er and

more robu

st

equipm

ent o

n the grou

nd

Broade

r informa

on data

base from

more sources

Im

proved

mod

els a

nd

mod

elling process

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels

of adviso

ries a

nd warnings.

A. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find


erate them

since the

environm

ent is h

arsh.


s

C. Provide redu

ndancy to


ng re

mote

sensing, dop

pler on bridges, floats, cam

eras, etc.

D. Make the bu

siness c

ase why

add

ion

al staff

is a jusfiable

expe

nse for the

RFC

E. More reliance on

the eyes and

ears o

n the grou

nd to

validate

the gauge readings

E. Im

plem

ent sta

c and/or re

al‐me inun

daon

mapping

for

forecasted

flow

s to give visu

al con

text to

flow

/water level

forecasts.

F. Early

, accurate and con

nuou

s com

mun

ica

on abo

ut river

height data


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Re

d Deer F

ebruary 28, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Red Deer Provincial Building

4920 51 Street, Red Deer, Alberta

Time: 8:30 am ‐ 11:30 am





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT








Our Workbook





Loca on: OkotoksOkotoksOkotoks Date: March 3, 2014March 3, 2014March 3, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

√ Town of Black Diamond √ MD of Foothills √ Town of Okotoks

√ Tsuu Tina Nation




Industries


All u li es and communica on operators (Epcor, Atco, Shaw, etc.)




Those organiza ons who a ended the Okotoks session on March 3, 2014 included:

4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014


The par cipants in today's session agreed to provide the RFC with the relevant informa on that they re‐quested and would be forwarding the informa on either by e‐mail or on a USB key.


All organiza on: Provide the RFC with informa on about ongoing construc on projects on the river

Black Diamond: Provide the RFC with informa on about the new protec ve wall design

MD Foothills: Provide the RFC with historical flood data to help se ng up rainfall gauges

Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul

What principles guided our discussions ?

All agreed that we would rest our dialogue on these founda onal principles to converge towards con‐sensus and op ons for the future.

5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

What were the substan ve issues we discussed ?



How to have meliness and accurate no fica on


How to have advanced warnings for hikers and campers in the MD of Foothills

2. Communica ons:











Insufficient number of monitoring gauges. Especially upstream of Black Diamond

Reliability and structural integrity of current monitoring gauges


How to ensure the current modeling will take into account landscape change due to the 2013 flood


RFC to keep up‐to‐date with the Alberta flood symposium for upstream storage

Staffing at the RFC

Will the WSC increase the number of visits this year to help with the development of new ra ng curves in loca ons where the river channel has significantly changed

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

What are our interests and needs ? Interests and needs expressed at our March 3, 2014 mee ng included the following list.



A connected, interac ve, collabora ve two way communica ons system and a coordinated regional strategy.




Raised awareness and understanding from the public and with local government elected officials about the RFC’s role, informa on available on their website and the advisory process.

Have designated River Flow Forecaster to each basins.


Users are able to adjust se ng on the Alberta Emergency Alerts website so they only get alerts for areas they have selected.



7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Sup

port to

Emergency

Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency


both th

e short a

nd long

term

Ho

w to

have

meliness a

nd

accurate no

fica

on

Ho

w RFC

helps emergency

managers m

anage their

cons

tuen

ts and

und

erstand

how m

uch

me they have

for e

vacua

on

Ho

w to

have advanced

warnings for hikers a

nd

campe

rs

Em

ergency

managers n

eed to

know

what the

RFC is telling

them

. Informa

on

and know

ledge

that m

akes th

e complex data

clear a

nd se

ts it

into an

unde

rstand

able

context

Ha

ve a be

er

organized an

d more user friend

ly

web

site and cell

phon

e applica

on

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the FN

M – includ

e at th

is me a review

of the


les a

nd

respon

sibili

es, com

mun

ica


umbe

rs and

key

thresholds and

review

fact sh

eets as req

uired


und

erstandable inform

aon

to emergency

managers that a

llows the

m to

make be

er decision

s and

inform

their

cons

tuen

ts

C. Ha



D. Provide em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Daily Duty

Manager at the

RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun


ll weather

ques

ons a

nswered

.

E. Re

vise and

coo

rdinate the commun

ica

ons fl

ow process

F. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an intran

et with

user access to share real me inform

aon

G. Provide the em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut th

e mod

el

used

by the RFC. The


eed to und

erstand what

parameters a

re ta

ken into con

sidera

on and

what a

re th

e mod

el’s

limita

ons.

H. Encourage em


ter into 2 way com

mun

ica

ons w

ith

the RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld be shared

with

others in real me,

since th

ey are th

e “eyes” and

“ears” on

the grou

nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call

whe

never the

y have que

son

s or feel the

y do

not und

erstand what the

data

means

How did we address the substan ve issues together ?

8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way”

commun

ica

ons p

rocess and

flow

The type

of informa

on th

at wou

ld

be m

ost u

seful to receive from

the

RFC

Ho

w best to commun

icate levels of


nd clients

A conn

ected,

interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons

system

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. Im


ries c

an be more easily

posted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut what

the em

ergency managers n

eed to kno

w, w

hat the

pub

lic needs to

know

, what the

expecta

ons a

re and

what a

con

s are re

quire

d

C. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al partners a

conn


rave, “tw

o‐way” commun

ica

ons

system

s as w

ell as a

region

al strategy.

D. Laun

ch an an


waren

ess p

rogram

to

improve tw

o way com

mun

ica


know

ledge base abo

ut th

e RFC and it’s o

pera

on.


9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

How did we address the substan ve issues together ? Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. The

balance of u

ncertainty and

level of risk

:

Ho

w to

balance th

e level of risk

against th

e un


s “so th

at th

e crying

wolf” sy

ndrome do

esn’t result in


nsiven

ess

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. De

velop a commun

ica

ons p

rotocol that b

alances a

nd


probability

B. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd com

mun

ica

ons

campaign to be

er und


triggers, risk

and prob

abili

es

4. M

aking data accessib

le, and

und

erstandable:

Ho

w to


erstand,

useable, visu

ally com

pelling

and

how

to se

t a be

er con

text based

on data so

that


an re

lay

unde

rstand

able m

essages, inform

aon

and

know


most

approp

riate re

spon

se.

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

.

Inform

aon

and

know

ledge that m

akes

the complex data clear

and sets it into an

unde

rstand

able

context

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide


ith clear and

concise

inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context that the

y can easily

unde

rstand

B. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th


levels and sim

ple graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross

secon

s to he

lp peo

ple un

derstand

poten

al im

pacts

10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

Substan

ve

Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

5. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd

educa

on :

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er

level of u

nderstanding,

awaren

ess a

nd be

er

inform

aon

abo

ut risk

to th

e pu

blic prio

r to

and du

ring an

event

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic

abou

t the

RFC’s ro

le, informa

on

available on

their w

ebsite and the

advisory process

Be

er pub

lic interface to sp

eed up

the dissem

ina

on of informa

on

A. Educate and raise

awaren

ess w

ith th

e pu

blic and

local

governmen

t elected

officials p

rior to an

event. Set th

e stage so

that whe

n an

event happe

ns th

e pu

blic will be prep

ared

B. He


the region

that weather is unp

redictable

and that a certain amou

nt of u

ncertainty m

ust b

e tolerated

whe

n evalua

ng level of risk and associated

acon

s. False

alarms m

ay be ok

from

me to me

C. De

velop pu

blic to

ols to alert p


D. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut

what the


eed to kno

w and

what the

pu

blic needs to

kno

w

E. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep them

inform

ed during an

event and

give them

con

text th

at th

ey can

un

derstand

.


11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

6. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod


ts to

im

prove mon

itorin

g

Insufficien

t num

ber o

f mon

itorin

g gauges.

Espe

cially upstream to

Black Diam

ond.

Re

liability and structural

integrity

of current

mon

itorin

g gauges.

Da


and field instrumen

ts and

on


data by em

ergency

managers

Ho

w to

ensure the curren

t mod

eling will ta

ke into

accoun

t landscape

change

due to th

e 20

13 floo

d

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish

new

floo

ding

thresholds due

to chann

el

changes a

nd erosio

n as a

result of th

e floo

d

Staffi

ng at the

RFC

Be

er and

more

robu

st equ

ipmen

t on

the grou

nd

Broade

r inform

aon

data

base from

more

sources

Im

proved

mod

els

and mod

elling

process

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd

data

interpreta

on

A. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t. Find

the resources to

maintain and op

erate them

since the en

vironm

ent is h

arsh.

B. Install new

rainfall alarms

C. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols; float g

auges that a

larm

whe

n triggered, cam

eras

combine

d with

staff

gauges, Dop

pler ra

dar a

t brid

ges

D. Invesgate other m

odels a

nd m

odeling processes

E. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra


con

s have changed

dram

acally, develop

hydraulic m

odels to assist in rede

fining/upd

ang

rang

curves

F. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th

e forecast peak water levels and

simple graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross se

con

s to he

lp peo

ple

unde

rstand

poten

al im

pacts

E. Make the bu

siness c

ase why

add

ion

al staff


se fo

r the

RFC

F. Provide the Em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut th

e mod

el

used

by the RFC. The


eed to und

erstand what

parameters a

re ta

ken into con

sidera

on and

what a

re th

e mod

el’s

limita

ons a

nd have confi

dence in th

e parameters

G. Explore be

st pracces a

nd perform

ance m

easures

H. RFC to keep up

‐to‐date with

the Albe

rta floo

d sympo

sium fo

r upstream

storage


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

Okotoks M

arch 3, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Foothills Centennial Centre

#4—204 Community Way, Okotoks, Alberta

Time: 9:00 am ‐ 12:00 pm





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










1

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

SUMMARY REPORT








Our Workbook





Loca on: Medicine HatMedicine HatMedicine Hat Date: March 4, 2014March 4, 2014March 4, 2014

Calgary

Canm

ore

Bassan

o High River

Pinche

r Creek

Lethbridge

Sund

re

Red Deer

Oko

toks

Med

icine Hat








Our Workbook



2

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

Backgrounder:








3

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

√ City of Medicine Hat √ Cypress County

√ Alberta Infrastructure Medicine Hat

√ Canadian Fertilizer Medicine Hat √ St. Mary River Irrigation District




Dam operators (including private dam operators)

All u li es and communica on operators (Epcor, Atco, Shaw, etc.)




Those organiza ons who a ended the Medicine Hat session on March 4, 2014 included:

4

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014




Cypress County: Provide RFC with informa on / maps (ESRI) of where the flooding usu‐ally happen. Also provide informa on about all of the years when they have applied for DRP.

Open dialogue

Convergence

Collabora ve

Respec ul

What principles guided our discussions ?

All agreed that we would rest our dialogue on these founda onal principles to converge towards con‐sensus and op ons for the future.

5

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

What were the substan ve issues we discussed ?



How to have meliness and accurate no fica on


Develop protocols (early communica ons of storm poten al) and leverage alternate remote sensing tools (cameras, staff gauges and float gauges) to address the risk and uncertainty around flash floods and need for early warning systems.

Need to iden fy key water level thresholds for Alberta Infrastructure buildings in City of Medicine Hat

Develop an understanding of dam management

2. Communica ons:


How to share useful data and emergency plans with RFC

How to improve communica ons with dam operators


How to balance the level of risk against the uncertainty of predic ons how likely) “so that the crying wolf” syndrome doesn’t result in fa gue and lack of responsiveness





6. Resources, equipment, modelling and instruments to improve monitoring

Insufficient number of monitoring gauges in the Cypress Hills (Paradise Creek and general precipita on sta ons iden fied)

Reliability and structural integrity of current monitoring gauges


How to understand the modeling limita on and variable that are being considered


Staffing at the RFC

Need recession forecasts

Support SMRID by providing inflow forecasts for their structures

6

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

What are our interests and needs ? Interests and needs expressed at our March 4, 2014 mee ng included the following list.







Stronger rela onships with the RFC and alignment and partnerships with dam operators.

Have a back‐up plan for scenario where they lose communica on.

Have a be er organized and more user friendly website and cell phone applica on.

Raised awareness and understanding from the public about the RFC’s role, informa on available on their website and the advisory process.


Have a clear communica on process between the City of Medicine Hat and the Alberta Infrastructure. Iden fy key water level thresholds for provincial infrastructure buildings in Medicine Hat.

Have a member of Alberta Infrastructure brought into the City of Medicine Hat Emergency Opera ons Centre (EOC) in future.

Need recession forecasts for the City of Medicine Hat.

7

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

1. Sup

port to

Emergency

Managers:

Ho

w to

supp

ort e

mergency


both th

e short a

nd long

term

Ho

w to

have

meliness a

nd

accurate no

fica

on

Ho

w RFC

helps emergency

managers m

anage their

cons

tuen

ts and

und

erstand

how m

uch

me they have for

evacua

on

De

velop protocols a

nd

leverage alte

rnate remote

sensing tools (cameras, staff

gauges and

float g

auges) to

address the

risk and

un

certainty arou

nd flash

floo

ds and

need for e

arly

warning

system

s.

Need to iden

fy key water

level thresho

lds for Alberta

Infrastructure buildings in

City of M

edicine Ha

t

De

velop an

und

erstanding

of

dam m

anagem

ent

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

. Inform

aon

and

know

ledge that m

akes

the complex data clear

and sets it into an

unde

rstand

able

context

A conn

ected,

interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons

system

.(increase

commun

ica

on of

issue

s occurrin

g up

stream

)

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

Stronger re

laon

ships

with

the RFC and

alignm

ent a

nd

partne

rships with

dam

op

erators

A. Co

nnu

e to com

plete annu

al upd

ates to

the contacts in

the FN

M, include

at this

me a review

of the


les a

nd re

spon

sibili

es,

commun

ica


umbe

rs and

key th

resholds and

review

fact

sheets as req

uired


und

erstandable inform

aon

to Emergency managers

that allows the

m to

make be

er decision

s and

inform

their con

stuen

ts

C. Provide Em

ergency managers w

ith th

e teleph

one nu

mbe

r of the

Daily Duty

Manager at the

RFC

so th

ey can

com

mun


ll weather

ques

ons a

nswered

.

D. Re

vise and

coo

rdinate the commun

ica

ons fl

ow process

E. Use a web

app

lica

on to

disseminate inform

aon

and

use an intran

et with

user

access to

share real me inform

aon

F. Provide the Em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut th

e mod

el used

by th

e RFC. The


eed to und

erstand what p

aram

eters a

re

taken into con

sidera

on and

what a

re th

e mod

el’s limita

ons

G. Provide the Em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut th

e principles of

dam m

anagem

ent

H. Encourage Em


ter into 2 way com

mun

ica

ons w

ith th

e RFC abou

t impo

rtant d

ata that cou

ld be shared

with

others in real me, since

they are th

e “eyes” and

“ears” on

the grou

nd. Encou

rage th

em to

call w

hene

ver

they have qu

eson

s or feel the

y do

not und

erstand what the

data means

I. De

velop protocols (early

com

mun

ica

ons o

f storm

poten

al) and

leverage

alternate remote sensing tools (cameras, staff gauges and

float g

auges) to

address the

risk and

uncertainty aroun

d flash floo

ds and

need for e

arly warning

system

s.


8

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014


Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

2. Com

mun

ica

ons:

Ho

w to

improve ou

r “tw

o way” commun

ica

ons

process a

nd flow

Ho

w to

share useful data

and em

ergency plans

with

RFC

Ho

w to

improve

commun

ica

ons w

ith

dam ope

rators

A conn

ected, interacve,

collabo

rave tw

o way

commun

ica

ons system

Broade

r informa

on data

base from

more sources

Co

mmon

pla

orms a

nd data

interpreta

on.

Ha

ve a back‐up

plan for

scen

ario whe

re th

ey lose

commun

ica

on

A. Im


ries c

an be more easily

posted

to th

e pu

blic in

a mely fashion.

B. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p


ut what the

Em

ergency managers n

eed to kno

w, w

hat the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w,

what the

expecta

ons a

re and

what a

con

s are re

quire

d

C. Laun

ch an an

nual Emergency managers a

waren

ess p

rogram

to im

prove

two way com

mun

ica


wledge base abo

ut


pera

on

D. De

sign and de

velop together with

other re

gion

al partners a

con

nected


rave, “tw

o‐way” commun

ica

ons systems a

s well as

a region

al strategy

E. Ha

ve Provincial group

s sit in th

e EO

C commiee

and

have a clear

commun

ica

on process between the City of M

edicine Ha

t and

the

Albe

rta Infrastructure

F. Explore the use of sa

tellite pho

nes

9

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014


ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

3. The

balance of u

ncertainty and

level of risk

:

Ho

w to

balance th

e level of risk

against th

e un


s “so th

at th

e crying

wolf” sy

ndrome do

esn’t result in


nsiven

ess

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

st pracces to set

trigger p

oints for

advancing levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings

A. Obtain be


s to he

lp se

t trigger p

oints to m

anage the cry wolf syndrom

e

B. De

velop a commun

ica

ons p

rotocol that b

alances a

nd


probability

C. Laun

ch an an

nual pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd com

mun

ica

ons

campaign to be

er und


triggers, risk

and prob

abili

es

4. M

aking data accessib

le, and

und

erstandable:

Ho

w to


erstand,

useable, visu

ally com

pelling

and

how

to se

t a be

er con

text based

on data so

that


an re

lay

unde

rstand

able m

essages, inform

aon

and

know


most

approp

riate re

spon

se.

Em

ergency managers

need

to kno

w what the

RFC is telling

them

.

Broade

r informa

on

data base from

more

sources

Co

mmon

pla

orms

and data

interpreta

on.

A. Ra

ther th

en data, provide

Emergency managers w

ith clear and

concise

inform

aon

that se

ts th

e context that the

y can easily

unde

rstand

B. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th


levels and sim

ple graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross

secon

s to he

lp peo

ple un

derstand

poten

al im

pacts

10

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014


ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

5. Pub

lic awaren

ess a

nd edu

caon

:

Ho

w to

brin

g a be

er level of u

nderstanding,

awaren

ess a

nd be

er inform

aon

abo

ut risk to

the

public prio

r to and du

ring an

event

Ra

ised aw

aren

ess a

nd

unde

rstand

ing from

the pu

blic abo

ut what

to do in case of



r the un

certainty that

goes along

with

forecasng

Be

er pub

lic interface

to sp

eed up

the

dissem

ina

on of

inform

aon

A. He


the City and

in th

e region

that weather is unp

redictable and

that a certain

amou

nt of u

ncertainty m

ust b

e tolerated whe

n evalua

ng level of risk

and

associated ac

ons.

False

alarm

s may be ok

from

me to me

B. De

velop pu

blic to

ols to alert p

eople to levels of

risk

C. Be

clear and

have commun

ica

ons p

rotocols in

place abou

t what the

Emergency Managers n

eed

to kno

w and

what the

pub

lic needs to

kno

w

D. Get inform

aon

to th

e pu

blic m

ore eff

ecvely to

keep

them

inform

ed during an

event and

give

them

con

text th

at th

ey can

und

erstand


awaren

ess w

ith th

e pu

blic prio

r to an even

t. Set the

stage so th

at whe

n an

event

happ

ens the

pub

lic will be prep

ared

11

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

Substan

ve Issue

Our In

terests

Op

ons /

Recommen

daon

s

6. Resou

rces, equ

ipmen

t, mod

elling and

instrumen

ts to

improve mon

itorin

g

Insufficien

t num

ber o

f mon

itorin

g gauges in

the Cypress H

ills (Paradise

Creek and gene

ral precipita

on

sta

ons ide

nfied

)

Re

liability and structural integrity

of

curren

t mon

itorin

g gauges

Da


nd field

instrumen

ts and

online accessibility

of th

e data by em

ergency managers

Ho

w to

und

erstand the mod

eling

limita

on and

variable that are

being considered

Ho

w to

refine

and

establish ne

w

floo

ding

thresholds due

to chann

el

changes a

nd erosio

n as a re

sult of

the floo

d

Staffi

ng at the

RFC

Need recession forecasts

Supp

ort S

MRID by

providing

inflow

forecasts for th

eir structures

Be

er and

more robu

st

equipm

ent o

n the grou

nd

Broade

r informa

on data

base from

more sources

Im

proved

mod

els a

nd

mod

elling process

Be


ger

points fo

r advancing

levels of

advisorie

s and

warnings.

A. Install m

ore structurally ro

bust gauges a

nd equ

ipmen

t (in

clud

ing some creeks). Find

the resources to maintain and

operate them

since the en

vironm

ent is h

arsh.

B. Install rainfall gauges a

larm

s

C. Provide redu

ndancy to

ols; float g

auges that a

larm

whe

n triggered, cam

eras com

bine

d with

staff

gauges, Dop

pler ra

dar

at brid

ges

D. Invesgate other m

odels a

nd m

odeling processes

E. Upd

ate hydrom

etric

gauge ra


con

s have

changed dram

acally, develop

hydraulic m

odels to assis

t in

rede

fining/upd

ang

rang

curves.

F. Prep

are a visual graph

ic th

at overla

ys th


levels and sim

ple graphical rep

resenta

ons o

f the

river cross

secon

s to he

lp peo

ple un

derstand

poten

al im

pacts

G. Make the bu

siness c

ase why

add

ion

al staff

is a jusfiable

expe

nse for the

RFC

H. Provide the Em

ergency managers w

ith m

ore inform

aon

abo

ut

the mod

el used by

the RFC. The


eed to

unde

rstand

what p

aram

eters a

re ta

ken into con

sidera

on and

what a

re th

e mod

el’s limita

ons a

nd have confi

dence in th

e parameters

I. Explore be

st pracces a

nd perform

ance m

easures


12

SUMMAR

Y RE

PORT

—Med

icine Hat M

arch 4, 2014

Agenda


Loca on: Provincial Building

346 3 St SE, Medicine Hat, AB

Time: 8:30 am ‐ 11:30 am





3. Backgrounder



Lessons learned










suite 200 alberta canada lessons learned t2g 0y2...

Documents