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Town/City: |
Calgary |
State/Province: |
Alberta |
Country: |
Canada |
Latitude/Longitude: |
51N 114W |
Information supplied byPhil Esslinger phil@rpcl.com
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According to the 1997 Civic Census the population of Calgary as of the April 1997 was 790,498 persons. Calgary's population is expected to reach the one million mark by the year 2008. Population density is low as the city is the second largest municipality in area in Canada covering 721 square kilometres. Calgary is the business and financial capital of interior western Canada. Calgary is a rapidly growing dynamic city with a well diversified economy and a primary industrial base focused on the exploration for and exploitation of hydrocarbons and coal. Other significant industries include manufacturing, high technology, labour-intensive service industries, agriculture and agricultural products. Tourism plays a large part in Calgary's economy as Calgary is the doorway to Banff and the spectacular Canadian Rockies and hosts the yearly "Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth - The Calgary Stampede". Source: www.gov.calgary.ab.ca
Moderate climate that enjoys four distinct seasons, including warm summers and mild Canadian winters. Precipitation averages 425 millimetres (16.7 inches), of which 150 millimetres (5.9 inches) falls as snow. From May to September the mean rainfall averages 300 millimetres (11.8 inches) and is sufficient to assure a good crop. July is the month of maximum thunderstorm and hail activity. Individual snowfalls rarely exceed 15 centimetres (6 inches) and a snow depth of 30 centimetres (12 inches) occurs on the average of once in ten years. Experiences a unique meteorological phenomenon, a "Chinook" that significantly moderates winter temperatures. A Chinook is a warm dry wind that descends the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains in the winter and can raise the temperature by more than 34 °C (55 °F) in one day, on average Calgary experiences 25 days of Chinooks per winter. Source: www.gov.calgary.ab.ca
Calgary is located at the confluence of the Bow and Elbow rivers. Calgary is located in the foreland deep of the Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin with sediment thicknesses below the city in excess of three kilometres. Quaternary aged surficial deposits are glacial tills, glaciolacustrine, glaciofluvial and river gravel terraces. Paleocene aged clastic sediments of the Paskapoo formation underlie the surficial deposits. The remaining sedimentary column is comprised of; Cretaceous, Jurassic and Triassic clastics, and Mississippian and Late Devonian carbonates.
The Quaternary river gravel terraces and Paleocene Paskapoo formation are the major near surface aquifers used for potable water supply in the surrounding countryside by smaller communities, farms and acreages. Calgary's potable water is supplied from two surface reservoirs within the city limits, the Bearpaw reservoir (*1) and the Glenmore reservoir (*2). The city is located close to the headwaters of both of these rivers with few population centres upstream. *1 - Dam on the Bow river *2 - Dam on the Elbow river
Because significant volumes of high quality potable surface waters are available to the city, groundwater contamination is not considered a severe threat at this time. Eutrophication of surface waters by sewage effluent from the population centres of Calgary, Banff and Cochrane, as well as runoff from agricultural operations and golf courses in the Bow and Elbow drainages are the most pressing water issues, especially for downstream farms and communities which rely on the Bow river for a potable water supply and for irrigation.
Within the city limits, leaking underground storage tanks, spills and disposal at light industrial areas and old petroleum refining installations are the major sources of potential groundwater contamination. A downtown area contaminated by creosote and an old petroleum refinery both located on the banks of the Bow River potentially impact the quality of the surface waters, fortunately both are downstream of the reservoirs.
Decreasing the input of the components that lead to eutrophication, nitrogen and phosphorous, would improve the quality of water quality. Calgary processes sewage effluent in three major stages; the Primary stage involves solids removal and oxygen consuming organic loading, the Secondary stage involves oxidation of organics and further lowering the concentration of suspended solids, the Tertiary stage is phosphorus removal. Calgary has recently added ammonia removal and upgraded the sewage treatment to include disinfection by ultra-violet light. (Source: www.mb.ec.gc.ca/ENGLISH/WATER/WQPRAIRIE/intro.html). A major remediation effort was directed towards preventing creosote from entering the Bow river and cleaning up the contaminated site.
City Of Calgary Website Environment Canada Green Lane, Prairie and Northern Region Website Jackson, L.E. and Wilson, M.C., 1987, Geology of the Calgary Area, Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Special Publication. Ozoray, G.F. and Barnes, R., 1978, Hydrogeology of the Calgey-Golden area, Alberta, Alberta Research Council Report 77-2.Back to Topics
Alberta Environmental Protection, Natural Resources Service, Water Administration, 200, 3115 12 Street N.E., Calgary, Alberta, T2E 7J2, tel 403-297-6582, fax 403-297-2749 Back to Topics