Residents of Bragg Creek were invited to participate in a Town Hall meeting on Jan. 15, allowing them to express their opinions about a number of issues facing the community and learn about potential flood mitigation projects to prevent another disaster like the 2013 flood.
No official announcement has yet been made by the Province concerning the large-scale mitigation projects being considered for the Elbow River, including the dry dam on McLean Creek and the Springbank off-stream reservoir (SR1), but local mitigation efforts are required upstream of Bragg Creek.
“Bragg Creek has to be protected, and we have to get that protection in place as soon as is humanly possible,” said Area Councillor Liz Breakey, who organized the meeting with the help of Rocky View County (RVC) administration. “As soon as the regulatory bodies will allow us.”
According to Breakey, MLA Bruce McAllister stated his commitment to the project at a meeting on Jan. 14. She added that the Government of Alberta has also promised $6.1 million in grant funding for Bragg Creek’s flood mitigation project. However, the preliminary project proposal failed its initial engineering review with RVC.
“Our engineering staff felt it wasn’t adequate to cover all the bases,” Breakey said, adding the County has contracted an outside engineering firm to work on the riverbank protection project. “The results should be available to us in March.”
Breakey said RVC’s direction was to prioritize the houses of residents, and work with the community on that basis. According to Breakey, an open house will be scheduled in April, to discuss the results of the assessment and to allow landowners to provide feedback, which can then be incorporated into the final design.
However, construction on the dykes isn’t anticipated to begin until 2016.
“There is no possible way, if you know anything about provincial regulatory functions, that we can get it in place for this June,” she said. “But God-willing, we will get that protection as soon as we can.”
Approximately 150 residents attended the meeting, and many voiced concerns about the potential for flooding before any mitigation is in place. Bragg Creek resident Shannon Bailey said she appreciated the effort to connect with the public, but was disappointed that no new information was shared.
“Obviously, these decisions haven’t yet been made, and there are different levels of government making them, so (RVC) isn’t in charge of a lot of this,” Bailey said. “But we are the ones who will ultimately bear the brunt if we get the spring that we had a couple years ago.”
Heather O’Bray, who owns and operates The CountryWood in Bragg Creek, spent eight months renovating her home and business after the 2013 flood. She said she was also hoping for more answers from the meeting.
“It’s a concern for the entire community, and judging from this information, we are looking at two more springs of watching the water levels come up and seeing my neighbors struggle,” she said. “I think the fact that so many people came out shows how much people care about this community, and I hope that positive energy carries us through.”
Breakey said she is still hoping the Government of Alberta will change its mind about the Springbank reservoir and pursue a dam at McLean Creek, which will provide more protection to Bragg Creek.
“We are in a budget tightening phase, and if we are looking at billion dollar projects (like SR1), decisions hopefully will be reconsidered,” she said.
“(RVC) doesn’t have a clear council position, but we are certainly advocating for McLean Creek as the best solution for everyone at every available opportunity.”
