Calgary’s whitewater playground getting a makeover

Harvie Passage reconstruction underway Repairs to the whitewater playground will change part of its layout. More from Brad Macleod.

The rafting routes on Harvie Passage are getting a major repair job after being damaged in the flood of 2013.

The passage on the Bow River was barely finished its original construction to replace the deadly weir before the flood came along, damaging it so severely that it hasn’t been in use since. The easier-to-raft low water channel was hit particularly hard, with tons of rock and gravel deposited in it by the river, creating a daunting repair challenge.

“It would have meant we had to tear out all the cobbles and gravel out of that channel to look at what’s there and how do we have to rebuild it,“ said Chuck Lee, Alberta Whitewater Association.

But while nature took away in one area, it gave back in another. A former drainage channel was blasted open by the flood, and water continues to flow down it. The decision was made to go with the flow and build a new low water channel in that area instead.

“They are going to wind this channel back out into the river, and instead of being a smaller length that goes directly back into the river below the big water drops, it’s going to extend out farther and have smaller drops in it,” said Lee.

The ride will be even easier to allow everyone at every level the chance to enjoy the river, with double the number of pools and a smoother ride. For more expert rafters, the high water channel will still be there, but some problems will be corrected.

“The big three drops had these really great whitewater holes in them, but after the flood came through, they scoured out those holes and made them a bit more dangerous, more recirculating in nature, so it became much stickier and harder to get out of.”

Those holes will have slabs added to create a ramp effect that allows paddlers to shoot out with less difficulty.

While the construction will improve the rafting experience for everyone, the public is reminded that the river is often very cold and can still be challenging to navigate, and rafters should be prepared.

“You need to scout, assess, decide, you need to know what’s coming up ahead, so it’s that route preparation, not just on a whim, buying a raft, hopping in and floating down the river,” said Carol Henke, Calgary Fire Department.

But the effort being made to redevelop Harvie Passage will help establish it as a destination rafting location.

“We can see a lot more people out there surfing and practicing tricks, we will have a world-class surfing/wave/hole feature here that anybody can come to and have some fun at.”

The passage is expected to be complete in 2018. Work will stop during fish spawning season, and the new design will even be friendlier to fish, allowing them to more easily move through the rapids.