April 2020 Newsletter

Greetings Ward 14!

Wow! What a difference a month can make. The COVID-19 pandemic is changing our world at a rapid pace. All of us are being forced to adapt, and operations at the City of Calgary are no exception.

April Counciltalk

The April 18 session of Counciltalk—like the March session—has been cancelled in an effort to prevent the spread of COVID-19. It is with great disappointment that I have made these decisions. In eight years of Counciltalk sessions not one has been cancelled until now. But rather that out of panic, this decision is out of the knowledge that a proactive approach will go a long way to lessen this sting of this pandemic. For future Counciltalk dates and info visit calgary.ca/counciltalk.

Community Clean Up Events

In order to reduce the spread of COVID-19, the provincial government now requires all events that will involve more than 50 people to be cancelled immediately and until further notice. Due to the uncertainty surrounding the length of time that these gathering size restrictions will be in effect, the difficult decision has been made to cancel all Community Cleanup events scheduled for 2020.

These have been traditionally well-utilized events. If you would like to learn more about them, and keep up to date for the 2021 season, visit calgary.ca/cleanup.

Ward 14 Wordsmith Awards

This may seem obvious, but with the schools being closed I have been forced to cancel the Ward 14 Wordsmith Awards for 2020. We will be up and running again in 2021!

Storm drains in your community

This is the season when all of that snow melts, finds its way into storm drains, and eventually back into the river. Having snow melt that doesn’t make it into the storm drain easily can be a major inconvenience. There are about 60,000 storm drains in Calgary working to drain water and melting snow off sidewalks, streets and roads.

Keep your storm drains free and clear of snow, leaves and debris

If it's safe and possible to do, remove debris or snow blocking the drain. Create a channel if need be, to facilitate water flow. 

 

Pooled water on your street

In communities built after 1990, The City installs devices in the storm drain to control how fast water flows into the system.  During and after a rainfall event, these devices allow water to pool on the road (usually in a depression or low spot, called a Trap Low), until the stormwater system can accept the extra water.

 

Take a picture

If the storm drain remains submerged for more than 90 minutes or you cannot safely clear ice and snow away, take a photo and submit it via the 311 App or a web request.  This way, our crews can prioritize and respond promptly.

 

​For more information on storm drains and why they matter and to locate the closest one to you, visit calgary.ca/stormdrains.

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Knowledge is power, and keeping informed is very important right now. For COVID-19 information from the City you can visit calgary.ca/covid19, for information from the Province you can visit alberta.ca/covid19, and for information from the Federal Government you can visit canada.ca/covid19.

Feel free to contact me any time. The best way to do so is by visiting calgary.ca/contactward14.

-Councillor Peter Demong