Calgary's Healthy Rivers

A Story of Calgary's rivers, riparian Areas and watershed protection

May 16, 2024

Calgary: A River City!

Calgary’s historical roots are at the junction of the Bow and Elbow rivers, a place that has been the centre of life and activity in this region for millennia. These rivers are the lifeblood of our city, providing us with drinking water, habitat for fish and animal species and spaces for recreation. They define Calgary as a river city.

Left: Calgary in 2010 Right: Calgary 1910

Beyond our two main rivers lie a network of smaller creeks and streams that make up Calgary's watershed. A watershed is an area of land that separates water flowing to different rivers, basins or areas. Within city limits, Calgary is situated within the Bow River Watershed. This includes six major sub-watersheds: Bow River, Elbow River, Fish Creek, Nose Creek, Pine Creek and the Shepard Wetland. The creeks and streams are tributaries of the Bow River. Their protection is important to help manage the overall quality of the Bow River in our city and downstream.

The Bow River Watershed - Calgary is indicated in light green on the map

No matter where you live in the city, you are in a watershed. Your watershed is your connection to the rivers. When it rains, or snow melts, or you water outdoors, water runs off your property and within your watershed boundary. This water called stormwater, empties into storm drains where pipes carry it to your local river, creek or stream. The majority of stormwater makes its way to the river untreated. Some passes through specially designed wet ponds that protect our rivers by removing some pollutants. Pollutants such as dirt, oil, soap and fertilizers can impact river water quality, and the plants and animals that call the rivers home.

Enter your address in the top right hand corner search bar in the map below to find out which watershed you live in, and to which river or creek you are directly connected. Keep scrolling to learn more about your watershed.

Calgary's Healthy Rivers - Sub watersheds map

Your Watershed: Your Connection to the River

Bow River Direct Watershed

The Bow River Watershed includes over 25,000 square kilometers of land, from the headwaters in Banff National Park to where it meets up with the Oldman River in semi-arid southeastern Alberta. Virtually all of Calgary is within the Bow River Watershed, as most land drains into one of six watersheds that are tributaries to the Bow River. Within city limits, the Bow River Direct watershed includes all areas that drain into the Bow River without first passing through a major tributary (e.g. Nose Creek).

The Bow River is the source water for the Bearspaw Water Treatment Plant, which provides approximately 60 per cent of the city’s water supplies to Calgarians.

The Bow River Watershed is a highly urbanized watershed. It experienced severe erosion during the 2013 flood, particularly along stretches with unhealthy riparian areas. There are extensive riparian areas that fringe the Bow River in Calgary. Approximately 52 per cent of the riparian land area exists as parks and recreation areas, 11 per cent as residential land use, and 7 per cent as major infrastructure.

The source of the Bow River - Bow Lake and Bow Glacier

Elbow River Watershed

The headwaters of the Elbow River Watershed begin in the mountains of Kananaskis Country. Moving downstream, landscapes in the watershed gradually change from mountains to foothills, to rural agriculture and country residential in Rocky View County, then to suburban neighbourhoods and finally to high-density urban areas in Calgary.

The Elbow River feeds the Glenmore Reservoir and provides source water to the Glenmore Water Treatment Plant, which supplies 40 per cent of the city’s drinking water supplies to Calgarians.

Extensive riparian areas fringe the Elbow River. About 56 per cent of these are designated parks and open spaces, whereas 38 per cent have been developed. These include residential communities, commercial and mixed uses, and the Calgary Stampede grounds. There is significant flood risk to people and businesses along the Lower Elbow, which requires careful ongoing management.

Fish Creek Watershed

The headwaters of Fish Creek originate in the rolling Rocky Mountain Foothills southwest of Bragg Creek. West of the City it crosses the M.D. of Foothills, the Priddis area, and the Tsuu T’ina Nation. Resident beaver populations continually shift the watercourses within the watershed, creating dynamic floodplains.

Within Calgary, Fish Creek’s riparian floodplains are entirely protected by one of the largest urban parks in North America. Fish Creek Provincial Park stretches 19 kilometers from east to west and occupies over 13 square kilometers. As a provincial park, it was largely protected from development by Premier Peter Lougheed’s government in 1973. Since then, it has become a rare wild natural riparian area within our built environment.

Fish Creek, in Fish Creek Provincial Park

Pine Creek Watershed

The headwaters of Pine Creek begin in forested areas just west of Calgary. Pine Creek flows east through largely rural areas in the M.D. of Foothills before entering the city of Calgary. Pine Creek eventually drains into the Bow River just east of Heritage Pointe. The Pine Creek corridor is largely undeveloped at this point. Radio Tower Creek, located in the southwest of the city, is a meandering water body that contains two separate small tributaries that feed into Pine Creek.

Pine Creek’s riparian areas are largely undeveloped within a steep ravine system. A large portion of these areas was recently retained as open space in the Legacy residential subdivision.

Nose Creek Watershed

The Nose Creek Watershed originates in Rocky View County north of Calgary. Nose Creek flows south for 75 kilometers through Airdrie, Balzac and Calgary before joining the Bow River near the Calgary Zoo. The West Nose Creek and Confederation Creek drainage basins are also included in the Nose Creek Watershed.

The Nose Creek Watershed and its riparian areas are heavily impacted by urban and agricultural uses, channelization, stormwater inputs, and chronic erosion and water quality concerns. Urban communities in the Nose Creek Watershed include Coventry Hills, Harvest Hills, Country Hills, Huntington Hills, Winston Heights, and Renfrew. Newer communities such as Sage Hill, Evanston, Hidden Valley and Panorama Hills are located in the West Nose Creek sub-watershed. Confederation Creek is bordered by the communities of Capitol Hill, Rosemont, Collingwood and North Mount Pleasant.

Most of the riparian areas (59%) located in this watershed along the Nose Creek, West Nose Creek and Confederation Creek systems are designated as parks and open spaces.

Shepard Wetland and Western Headworks Canal Watershed

This watershed covers the eastern areas of Calgary and is notable for its high cover of wetlands in a "prairie pothole" landscape. The Western Headworks Canal, which supplies waters to the Western Irrigation District, runs through the watershed. Forest Lawn Creek, as well as the large constructed Shepard Wetland and Shepard Ditch systems, are other major drainage features in the watershed.

Forest Lawn Creek runs through a heavily industrialized area of Southeast Calgary. It is surrounded by undeveloped lands owned by The City of Calgary which will be developed to industrial lots in the near future.

Ralph Klein Park and the constructed Shepard Wetland

Calgary's Riparian Areas

Bordering our rivers and creeks are ribbons of green that stretch through our city. These networks of riparian areas are wild and alive and among the most biologically diverse and productive places in Alberta.

Riparian landscapes occupy the spaces where land and water interact. They border rivers, creeks and wetlands and extend across the floodplain, down into the groundwater and upwards to include plants and trees. From supporting our drinking water to how we move around our city, they are a defining aspect of our daily lives and a unique characteristic of Calgary.

Riparian areas defined (left), and an example of a riparian area along Calgary's Nose Creek

Our rivers and riparian areas connect us to nature and each other. Our river areas make Calgary home.

Our History of Living With the Rivers

Calgary has had a strong legacy of river parks and stewardship. Less than one third (28 per cent) of riparian areas are developed in Calgary. Although our urban landscape has grown over time, the vast majority (72 per cent) of riparian areas have been effectively conserved due to a combination of regulation, philanthropy and buyouts in the 1950s. Places like Bowness Park, Lawrey Gardens, Pearce Estate Park and the Bow Riverfront Park system near downtown are legacy examples of protecting natural spaces along our rivers.

Major land uses in Calgary's riparian areas

Still, Calgary’s riparian areas have been marked by human intervention. The remaining natural open spaces that border our creeks often face pressures from recreation and development.

Benefits of Riparian Areas

Although riparian areas make up only a small fraction of our landscape, they are immensely important to fish and wildlife, recreation, agriculture and society. The benefits provided to humans by natural areas are often referred to as ecosystem goods and services. Networks of healthy, well-connected riparian areas are vital ecological infrastructure for cities. They provide distinct goods and services with high environmental, social and economic benefits.

Biodiversity: Almost all fish and wildlife depend on riparian areas for some part of their life cycle. In Calgary there are at least 52 mammal species, 365 bird species, six amphibian species, four reptile species and 22 fish species. Riparian areas are among the most biologically diverse and productive places in Alberta.

Clean, safe water: Calgary and surrounding communities rely on the Bow and Elbow rivers for many things – including our drinking water. Our rivers depend on healthy riparian areas to help filter contaminants and nutrients, trap and store sediment, store and recharge groundwater, and ultimately, help keep our rivers clean.

Quality of life: Our river areas connect us to nature and each other. They provide opportunities for recreation, education, moments of solitude and natural beauty. Our river areas make Calgary home.

Flood Risk Management: Natural riparian areas act as a watershed safety valve by storing water during floods. Deep-rooted native riparian plants also help to reduce erosion, instability and bank failure. By retaining natural riparian areas and restoring degraded areas, we will reduce infrastructure damage and risks to safety during future extreme floods.

Economic: Functioning riparian areas provide free ecosystem services that reduce the need for costly restoration and additional infrastructure over time. Functioning riparian ecosystems reduce the need for intervention and investment in water quality improvement, stormwater management and erosion protection.

The State of our Riparian Areas

While many of our riparian areas remain as undeveloped spaces in Calgary, the majority can be considered "Healthy with Problems". This means a site with moderate impacts to riparian health caused by natural or human-caused disturbances.

The City of Calgary has assessed riparian areas city wide using a methodology called "Riparian Health Inventory Assessments". Areas are assessed using a range of different factors, producing a health score that places that piece of land in one of three categories.

Healthy: Deep-rooted native plants strengthen the riverbank, preventing erosion and loss of land. Great habitat is provided for fish and wildlife.

Healthy with Problems: Native vegetation is starting to disappear, being replaced with bare soil. This riverbank is prone to washouts with floods and high water, while providing minimal habitat for fish and wildlife.

Unhealthy: Exposed soil and lack of vegetation cover puts the riverbank and adjacent landowner property at great risk at all times of the year. Habitat has been lost for fish and wildlife.

Assessments have shown that overall riparian health scores in Calgary have improved. Twenty-five per cent of sites show an improving health trend and very few sites showing a declining health trend. Overall, the city-wide average riparian health score at monitored sites increased by four per cent between 2008 and 2015.

Key factors contributing to this trend include restoration and management improvements, and natural vegetation recovery. We are making progress towards our 2025 target for average city-wide riparian health of 70 per cent. The City's Riparian Monitoring Program will continue to measure progress toward our riparian health targets, as well as provide recommendations on the effectiveness of various restoration techniques.

The City of Calgary's Plan

As part of an integrated approach to ensuring Calgary has a healthy, resilient watershed, The City is committed to responsibly planning, protecting and managing our river areas. Protecting and restoring these areas will benefit Calgarians by providing cleaner water, resilience to flood and drought, experiences of nature in the city, diverse plant and animal life, and an abundance of recreational opportunities.

For a complete copy of The City’s Plan - the Riparian Action Program – click here . This program focuses on an integrated approach that includes land use planning, restoration, monitoring and education to protect riparian areas. Key elements and highlights of the document are shared below.

Eighty-three per cent of Calgarians care about The City having a plan to preserve and protect riparian areas (Ipsos, 2016)

The City's Plan: Restoration + Bioengineering

Improving the health of our riparian areas requires investing time and resources in restoration. Our goal is to build a more resilient and diverse ecosystem, able to resist the impact of floods, people and wildlife. We design restoration techniques for each site to promote river bank resiliency and increase protection against erosion and flooding.

Restoring our riverbanks requires a collective effort. The City, community organizations and Calgarians all play a part in improving the health of our riparian areas by designing, implementing and participating in restoration and planting projects. Keep exploring the Story Map to learn about some of the great restoration projects in Calgary.

Riparian Restoration: Before and After

Restoration of a Sandy Beach riparian area before and after.

The photos below show restoration work at Sue Higgins Park. An unhealthy riparian area (2003) was impacted by a flood event in 2005, resulting in significant bank loss. Ongoing restoration and monitoring efforts to bring back natural riparian functions increased the resiliency of this site during the 2013 flood. Today, it is a healthy riparian area.

In October 2018, Calgary River Valleys (CRV) along with Leaf Ninjas and a team of volunteers piloted their "Riverbank Makeover" project. Working with a homeowner on the Elbow River, they took a manicured riparian area and planted a variety of native plants including shrubs such as willows, gooseberries, and dogwood. Native plants, rather than Kentucky Blue Grass mono-culture, provide improved habitat for birds, beasts and pollinators, and additional water quality benefits. Overtime, as the root systems grow, they will provide improved protection against bank erosion.

The 'Riverbank Makeover' Yard, before. Photo credit: Calgary River Valleys

The 'Riverbank Makeover' Yard, after. Photo credit: Calgary River Valleys

The City is supporting and encouraging the adoption of bioengineering techniques to restore riparian areas where appropriate.

Using living and non-living plant materials, bioengineering harnesses the power of natural design to provide engineering benefits such as stabilizing banks and controlling erosion, while creating habitat on land and in water.

Bioengineering is more ecologically beneficial than hard engineering designs -- the practice of armouring and stabilizing banks with rocks, concrete or steel. While this approach is an effective immediate answer to erosion, it negatively impacts riparian health.

Riprap design - a hard engineering approach

Bioengineering in Calgary

Since 2008, The City of Calgary has promoted bioengineering practices for bank stabilization and riparian restoration. Many examples of successful bioengineering projects can be found along Calgary's riverbanks. Keep scrolling through our Story Map to explore an interactive map showing some of Calgary's great bioengineering projects.

Walk along the Elbow River across from the Stampede Grounds and you will find both of the projects below! On the left is a Vegetated Timber Crib Wall with willow cuttings rooted inside a log structure built into the bank. On the right is a Vegetated Gabion with live willow cuttings planted between rock baskets.

Left: Vegetated Timber Crib Wall after construction Right: Vegetated Gabion

In 2009, The City of Calgary installed two timber crib walls interspersed with live willow cuttings along the Bow River near Deerfoot Meadows. Rock was installed underneath the timber crib wall to ensure structural integrity. These structures survived the June 2013 flood exceptionally well, while adjacent areas experienced erosion (see photo below).

Timber Crib Wall and adjacent area erosion

The new and innovative Bioengineering Demonstration and Education Project is being implemented along the Bow River between Pearce Estate Park and the Inglewood Bird Sanctuary. This partnership project between Alberta Environment and Parks and The City of Calgary will utilize a variety of bioengineering solutions to address riparian health, slope stability, and bank erosion issues created by the 2013 flood. Fish habitat will be restored by creating innovative fish shelters under a new timber crib wall and the strategic placement of boulder clusters. Knowledge acquired from monitoring the project area will inform decisions about the future use of bioengineering in municipal planning and design in Alberta and beyond. For more information about this project, visit calgary.ca/bdep .

Site 1 Before (left) and after (right) - a new timber crib wall and boulders placed in the river create improved fish habitat

Site Two: Techniques used from North to South; brush mattress with contour fascines, hedge brush layers and live staking. A box fascine was installed along rivers edge for the whole site

Site Four: Existing rip rap was covered with soil and vegetated using different techniques including live staking, container shrub planting and seeding with native riparian seed mix.

The Discovery Ridge timber crib wall and fish boulders project is located on the Elbow River near Griffith Woods. The crib wall structure used interlocking logs, arranged log-cabin style, fixed into the side of the bank. They were then filled with soil and live plant material was added to strengthen the structure over time and prevent erosion. Large boulders were also placed in the water, with attached stabilized drift wood, resulting in a net fish habitat credit. This project is in our source watershed for the Elbow, upstream of Glenmore Reservoir, helping to keep our drinking water clean.

Timber Crib Wall on the left, fish boulders and woody debris on right

Projects in Your Watershed

Calgary's Healthy Rivers - Education Sites map

Click on the project points to learn about some of the great riparian restoration projects that are happening along Calgary's rivers, creeks and streams!

How to Take Action!

From participating in a community project, to taking a few simple actions while enjoying the rivers, pathways and outdoor spaces closer to your home, you can help take care of and protect Calgary's rivers and riparian areas.

Use proper river access sites to minimize disturbance to healthy riparian areas. You can find the locations of designated river access sites here

Be respectful of riparian areas when passing through by staying on pathways and trails.

If you are a landowner along a river, creek or stream, take action to improve the health of your riparian area by planting native plants and shrubs.

Keep our local fish community healthy. Don’t let it loose! Releasing aquarium species into waterbodies is illegal in Alberta.

Upland actions can impact river health. Only clean water belongs in storm drains.

Pick up pet waste -- no matter where you are in the city.

Clean, drain, dry your gear -- Aquatic invasive species and diseases such as Whirling disease can be spread from one waterbody to another through standing water, watercrafts and recreational user equipment. Three easy steps can be followed to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species and diseases: clean all watercrafts and gear of mud, sand, and plants, drain all water and sponge out excess water and let everything dry for a minimum of 24 hours before moving between waterbodies.

Participate in education or stewardship activities -- scroll down to see a list of opportunities.

Education, Stewardship & Volunteer Groups

Volunteer with City of Calgary Parks

Volunteer with Friends of Fish Creek Park

Weaselhead/Glenmore Park Preservation Society: Invasive Plant Program Volunteer Opportunities

Volunteer with CreekWatch

Current Events and Opportunities

In partnership with Trout Unlimited Canada, the City of Calgary is offering the Stream Rehabilitation Training Program beginning fall 2019. The workshops will provide up-to-date information on the science and best practices of rehabilitating stream ecosystems and their watersheds.

For more information on the program, or to register for the workshops, visit https://tucanada.org/stream-rehabilitation-from-form-to-function-a-training-course/

If you would like your volunteer or stewardship event to be added to this board, please email teamwaterwise@calgary.ca