Flood History Study Peace Athabasca Delta

A common perception since the 1970s was that lower flows on the Peace River resulting from regulation precluded the generation of flood levels that would inundate perched basins that are separated from the open-water flow system. However, some literature references and local inhabitants have said that ice jams also played a role in some flood events. The initial objective of this study was to determine the relative role of ice jams in flooding in the Peace-Athabasca Delta (PAD). Assuming ice jams to be a significant factor, a second objective was to determine the hydrometeorological conditions that lead to their generation near the PAD and a third objective was to determine what role flow regulation has had on their formation. The study uses analysis of hydrometric data in conjunction with various historical and local sources to show the extent to which open water floods could flood the higher elevations in the PAD.

"In the delta, water is boss, change is the only constant, and creation and destruction exist side by side." The Peace-Athabasca Delta in northern Alberta is a globally significant wetland that lies within one of the largest unfragmented landscapes in North America. Arguably the world's largest boreal inland delta, it is renowned for its biological productivity and is a central feature of a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Yet the delta and its indigenous cultures lie downstream of Alberta's bitumen sands, whose exploitation comprises one of the largest industrial projects in the world. Kevin Timoney provides an authoritative synthesis of the science and history of the delta, describing its ecology, unraveling its millennia-long history, and addressing its uncertain future. Scientists, students, leaders in the energy sector, government officials and policy makers, and conscientious citizens everywhere should read this lively work.