Economic Impact Assessment
Kananaskis Whitewater was developed as a world class destination for: river recreation; paddle sport training & competition; surf training & competition; and commercial raft & paddle sports operations. Since its inception in 1984, it has become one of the top destination rivers in Canada and a significant part of the Banff/Canmore/Kananaskis tourism asset mix.
This assessment puts the economic impact of the activities at Kananaskis Whitewater at over 32 million dollars per year. This number is in-line with the overall 2.8 billion of GDP spent on Outdoor Recreation on Crown Land in Alberta, as reported in 2020 by the Tourism Industry Association of Alberta (TIAA 2020). It also matches up with the findings of the Calgary River Users Alliance’s assessment of Bow River Recreational (CRUA 2022). Paddlesports are one of the top recreational activities in Alberta with a combined percentage of 35% of Albertans participating in Canoe, Kayak, or Stand-Up-Paddleboard (ARPA 2022). Worldwide surfing has a $60B economic impact (Surf Anywhere 2023)
Read the full report: Kananaskis Whitewater Economic Impact Assessment (2024)
KANANASKIS WHITEWATER MAINTENANCE & ACCESS PROJECT - 2024
The river requires maintenance every 5-10 years depending on spring flows and large flood events. With the last full refresh being in 2015, it was time to get the shovels out and make some improvements. The work was completed with the generous support of the Province of Alberta-CFEP, Calgary Foundation - Darryl K Seaman Grant, Lafarge Canada, Able Demolition, Surf Anywhere, and other community fundraising. The work window was supported by a GOA/TransAlta agreement to lock off the dam during the day, and run testing water three nights. While AWA led the project, it was a combined effort with Alberta River Surfing Association and Lower Kananaskis River Users Association.
The total project was 2.5 weeks with 6 days being in-river. Able's 10T excavator did the small work, while the 35T excavator moved the larger 3, 4, 5 size boulders. In total 1000 tons of rock was added in this build. The goals were to make the facility more accessible, more resilient, and more fun!
In the fall of 2024 we completed the following projects:
1- Access
- New Raft Put-In - 250 square meter eddy created for the commercial rafting operators to stage their trips above Widow Maker
- Full walking access at river level throughout the Race Course section of river
- Improved Main Take-out at Canoe Meadows - New stairs, added rock to reduce erosion
- New 40-Boat Eddy Trail - 140m access road with switchback from the Canoe Meadows parking lot to 40-Boat, replacing the old roughed-in stairs. This allowed machine access to the lower river features; creates a much better grade for accessing the lower Kananaskis stretch of river; and ensure a trail that our adaptive Trailrider can work on.
2- Feature Changes
- Point Break - more consistent (not easier) feature by moving left berm downstream
- Santa Claus - friendlier feature that is playable
- Santa's Little Helper - result of adjustments to Santa's tailwater berm. Bouncy but not retaining
- Mountain Wave - adjustment to the magic rock, walls, and tailwater berm to square-up and steepen the wave
- Green Tongue - adjustment to bring back a wave that is good for longer boat surfing and useful for slalom races
- The Notch was widened to lower the pool, to avoid pathway damage from high water.
3- Maintenance
- Point Break to Race Course - each feature that was adjusted was made stronger with the addition of rock (donated by Larfarge Canada)
- Race Course - about half the features in the race course were rebuilt with additional rock
- Much of pathway was raised to improve high water resilience
- The smaller in-river features were updated and rock gaps tightened where possible (it is still a river subject to natural rock movement)
*this construction period the team only had time to work with machines from Point Break to 40-Boat. Thunderbunny was also adjusted manually with a dedicate crew of volunteers, with oversight from the project team.
Thank you to all the volunteers who helped on the long days, Surf Anywhere for project management, Lafarge for their generous rock donation, Applied Ecohydraulics for the Engineering work, and Ed and his team from Able Demolition for their generosity of time, sweat equity and funding.
Project planning
The AWA has been working on developing facilities for whitewater paddling since 1984 when they undertook the first development of a whitewater slalom course at Canoe Meadows on the Kananaskis River. As a dam released river, we get consistent flow rates throughout the year, with the timing dependant on run-off, and electricity production variables. In partnership with the Lower Kananaskis River Users Association, Alberta River Surfing Association, Alberta Parks, Alberta Environment and Kananaskis Improvement District this recreation and sport facility has been a great success. Lafarge Canada has been the single biggest non-governmental contributor to this facility. The rock that creates this World Class facility has all been donated over the years and we are extremely appreciative of their generosity! The wave features have been used for multiple National Freestyle and Surf events; and the Slalom race course has been used for numerous National and International races since 1988. Bow Valley Kayak Club and Alberta Slalom Canoe Kayak have storage on-site to aid in programming and events.
Ongoing Project Considerations 2020-2026
- What will be done? -
- [completed 2024] Overall River Maintenance/Improvements - Tweaks to Santa, Point Break, Green Tongue, Race Course, etc.
- [completed 2024] Raft Put-in - improved eddy and ramp in above Widowmaker (funded by raft companies)
- Adjustable Wave at the race course put-in - 8-12m wide wave with 1.5-1.7m wave face
Timeline:
Winter 2021 - Surf Wave modelling with U of Ottawa and Surf Anywhere [completed]
March 2021 - An aquatic environmental study was completed by LKRUA [completed]
Spring 2021 - Kayak Wave modelling with U of Ottawa and Surf Anywhere [completed]
- KAYAK WAVE RESEARCH REPORT
- Compressed
- Full size
Donate Now matched Fundraiser December 16, 2021 - Jan 15, 2022
Winter 2021 - Grant Status & AWA fundraising [ongoing]
2022/23 - Detailed engineering, regulatory approvals, adjustable feature construction (off-site)
Fall 2024 - Maintenance and feature rebuild
Fall 2026 - Adjustable Wave install
Alberta Whitewater Association and Alberta River Surfing Association continue to work closely together and with other LKRUA and Parks partners on this project.
The last full rebuilds were done by AWA in 2013/'14/'15 to repair flood damage from the 2013 flood. Since 2015 the Kananaskis has seen peak flows of 40-60cms every year, where typically that only happened every 5-10years. That has led to much rock and gravel movement and it is time for another maintenance project.
At the same time River Surfing has grown in popularity and Freestyle Kayaking has seen a resurgence. What is needed now is another excellent feature where surf and freestyle can thrive. Extensive consultation, including public surveys, has been ongoing and we've heard that people want an approachable, high-quality wave. AWA and ARSA have a project team working on researching, modelling and developing the next maintenance and specific wave plan. AWA spent $10,000, and was engaged daily, in a large modelling project carried out with Surf Anywhere, the University of Ottawa and MITACS in the Spring of 2021. This built upon a year of modelling by Alberta River Surfing Association. The goal was to create the perfect kayak wave for freestyle. READ THE WAVE MODELLING REPORT HERE!
An adjustable wave would allow for surf and paddling activities on the same feature. Final details on the next project depend largely on Community Facilities Enhancement Program funding and government approvals.
Improvements are also needed on the Commercial Rafting access and these considerations are also included in the next project.
Recent History of the Kananaskis:
2024 - Changes in TransAlta management led to upheaval in flow scheduling. The Government of Alberta has to mandate daily and event water in order to save the local economy and allow for events to proceed. Hosted the 2024 National Whitewater Championships. Video of events in August 2024
2022 - Hosted the 2022 National Whitewater Championships
2020 - Parks made a massive investment in on-shore access and campground improvements. New individual camping, cook shelter, change room, boat racks, paved parking and more have much improved the whitewater park's user experience. Kananaskis/Barrier Improvements
2019 - ARSA did a rebuild of the Mountain Wave including the beautiful square rundle stone you see today. This work has resulted in a World Class surf wave where there was previously just a riffle on the river. The trail improvements, deck and stairs have been done in collaboration with Parks. Alberta River Surfing Association
2018 - Lower Kananaskis River Development Plan (Parks) - In 2018 Parks put a 5 year moratorium on New features. Hosted the 2018 National Whitewater Championships.
2015 / 2014 - Repairs to the full river were made to repair flood damage thanks to Disaster Recovery funding. Short access windows meant that operators had to push hard to get as much done as possible. The result is a wonderful natural river experience with lots of variety of quality features. ARSA also built version 1.0 of the Mountain Wave in 2014.
2013 - The June 2013 floods decimate the Kananaskis Whitewater Park. Most of the features were unrecognizable jumbles of rock and the entire slalom course was wiped out. Emergency repairs were carried out immediately following the flood and we were able to host the National Championships within weeks. Stampede's 'come hell or high water' slogan rang true on the Kananaskis.
2005 - Major reconstruction following flooding.
1995 - First construction upstream of the race course.
1984 - The Kananaskis Whitewater Park was born. AWA began construction on the 'race course' at Canoe Meadows in order to host National Slalom events. The clean eddy lines, good features, and ability to attain from the take-out to the put-in were all features of the first version. Coupled with the beautiful mountain river water, the Kananaskis became the gem that it is today. Less than an hour from the City of Calgary and an easy weekend trip for most of Alberta's population, it is truly a unique Tourism and Recreation asset.
