Fort McMurray Branch | Year In Review
Located at the confluence of the Athabasca and Clearwater rivers, Fort McMurray experiences significant flood risk each spring during the annual river breakup. This risk was realized in 2020 when a 25-kilometre-long ice jam formed on the Athabasca River, causing water levels to rise along both rivers and resulting in widespread damage exceeding $500 million. In response, the Regional Municipality of Wood Buffalo implemented seasonal flood mitigation measures and accelerated its permanent flood protection program. This presentation will highlight the flood response, the lessons learned over the seasonal flood mitigation program, and the permanent solutions that continue to be implemented within the constraints of Fort McMurray’s urban environment.
Join the Fort McMurray Branch for this event.
For any questions about this event, please contact [email protected].
About the presenter
Jason Vanderzwaag is a civil engineer with both bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of British Columbia. He brings extensive experience in water resources, municipal engineering, and community development, having led projects across British Columbia, Alberta, and parts of the Caribbean and Central America. Jason currently serves as manager of Associated Engineering’s Fort McMurray office, where he leads a multidisciplinary team of engineers and technologists focused on client service and project delivery. His experience includes emergency response and recovery works following the 2016 wildfire in Fort McMurray, as well as the topic of this presentation: the 2020 ice jam flood in Fort McMurray and the ongoing flood mitigation engineering works.