A number of Cochrane Lake hamlet residents have decided to petition a letter from Rocky View County sent out on June 25, notifying them of an Local Improvement Tax (LIT) as a possible long-term solution to the extensive flood issues at the lake.
Hamlet residents voiced their concerns expressing outrage over the possibility of having to cover the expenses they believe should be shared by the Province and the County.
“We (at the hamlet) didn’t create this problem,” emphasized 15-year Cochrane Lake resident Darla Gullons.
“Are we willing to take on a tax for the next 30 years to fix a problem we didn’t create?”
The ‘hamlet’ refers to Cochrane Lake residents who reside on the west side of the lake, next to Monterra; they do not currently have formal hamlet status, namely due to the absence of commercial infrastructure.
Cochrane Lake levels have been rising and causing flooding on the properties and the homes of hamlet residences (and some Monterra residences) over the last four years.
Residents say there has been some misconception in the media when the lake has been referred to as artificial, due to the interference of the Province filling the lake levels in previous drought years.
Residents of Cochrane Lake assert that the lake is natural, with natural underground springs.
To date, 21 of the 54 residences in the hamlet area have been flood-impacted and a number of homes in the Monterra community have also been flood-impacted; between the two communities there are more than 350 residences.
Kathy Sheridan is a 19-year hamlet resident who has been involved with the Cochrane Lake Hamlet Plan (adopted by the County in 2011).
She, along with a number of other hamlet residents, has taken it upon herself to collect signatures for a petition opposing the LIT; residents opposed to the LIT had 30 days (until July 25) to collect signatures and present the petition to the County.
“We (the hamlet residents) have the biggest lots, but we’re the smallest population and the most significantly impacted,” said Sheridan, adding that the requirement to collect signatures from two-thirds of area residents was hardly possible — considering many of the Monterra lots are vacant or owned by banks.
Amanda Bradley, communications coordinator with the County, confirmed the municipality received a petition from Cochrane Lake/Monterra residents with 41 valid signatures on July 25.
The County is currently pumping water from Cochrane Lake into Horse Creek and Bill hill Creek with funding and approval from Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) as a short-term solution.
According to Grant Kaiser, manager of communications services with the County, RVC is pressuring AESRD and the department minister to quickly develop, fund and implement permanent solutions to the problem of high lake levels.
“It is Rocky View County’s belief that this is the best and most appropriate option for dealing with the problem,” Grant said in an email to the Rocky View Weekly on July 22.
Kaiser added Cochrane Lake residents asked RVC to investigate a LIT that could be used to fund a solution to lake levels in the event AESRD “does not deal with the problem in the near future.”
“The LIT is not Rocky View County’s preferred option,” he said in the email.
“The County is only considering the tax as a possible tool it might use should the issue fail to be resolved by the AESRD.”
Kaiser added that ongoing bankruptcy proceedings and regulatory hearings and appeal involving a bankrupt developer and local water utility have made AESRD’s attempt to implement a long-term flooding solution “extremely complicated.”
Sheridan, as well as 30-year hamlet resident Gloria Wilson, expressed concern with the LIT — that it was an estimated cost of $1.5 million with no cap; that the build and maintenance of a paved pathway around the lake was included and the aspect of building a berm around the lake.
“We’re left wide open, the way (the LIT) was presented – there’s no cap, just estimated costs,” said Wilson.
Sheridan and Wilson said they have tried to contact area Councillor Bruce Kendall, but have not heard from him.
County Division 2 Councillor Jerry Arshinoff received an email from a hamlet resident one month ago, beckoning County council members to view the damages incurred by hamlet residents from the flooding.
He visited a number of flood-impacted residences in the hamlet area and said he was ‘blown away’ by what he saw.
Arshinoff said he is opposed to an LIT and is disappointed by the response from the majority of Rocky View County councillors.
“Not only have they (hamlet residents) incurred property damages… why are they being told they have to pay for it?” said Arshinoff, remarking that footing these residents with the bill is simply ‘adding insult to injury.’
Kendall said in all likelihood, those residents who have incurred property and even household damages from flooding would be responsible to cover those costs themselves; he said that hydrological studies would be required to prove that the damages are a result from the actions (or lack thereof) from the water utility holder and developer, rather than from groundwater and rainfall.
Sheridan and Wilson said the root of the problem goes back to when Cochrane Lake levels were brought back up, during the build of the Monterra community, with no outflow system in place.
“Assessing blame (between the Province and the County) — there’s no point in that,” said Arshinoff. “But this is not the fault of the people in the hamlet.”
Arshinoff also commented that because of the way the LIT was set up - to assess taxation based on lot size and majority vote - would overlook the smaller hamlet area residents, who have largely been the most significantly impacted.
“The hamlet and Monterra should be treated as two separate communities,” said Arshinoff.
Many Monterra residents would be in favour of an LIT, whereas hamlet residents are at least 95 per cent opposed, according to Sheridan.
Jamie Hanlon, spokesperson with AESRD, explained the Province is covering the cost of the short-term solution — pumping into Big Hill Creek and Horse Creek — and installed a third pump (pumping into Horse Creek) by the weekend of Aug. 2 and 3.
Hanlon said AESRD “recognizes the urgency of the situation” and is “going to continue to work with the County and support them in their efforts.”
He said the County is to devise a long-term solution to lower the lake levels (down to a water table of 1,281 metres — the current water table is sitting two metres, or six feet, higher and being lowered around one inch per week).
Hanlon said there would be funding (grants) available for the County for a long-term solution, but the requirement is for “the County to submit a viable proposal, for which they are responsible for the design, implementation and operation of a proposed plan.”
Kendall said it looks like a long-term solution may be pumping into Horse Creek with a permanent line. He added there are a number of complications with running a line down to the Bow River including the high costs, issues of running across multiple landowners’ properties.
Kendall said a proposal would be submitted to AESRD in the ‘coming weeks.’
He said once the water table is brought down in Cochrane Lake, managing it would not be difficult — and therefore won’t upset the water table at Horse Creek from pumping.
In the meantime, the County and AESRD will continue to work on bringing the water levels down to 1,281 metres as a long-term solution is being devised.
With files from Lindsay Seewalt
