Members of the Langdon Technical Review Committee (LTRC) presented recommendations to Rocky View County (RVC) council on July 29, about new and improved infrastructure they deem necessary to support future development around Langdon.
The review studied transportation, stormwater management, solid waste collection, potable water systems and sanitary sewer systems. The study area for the review includes the current Langdon Area Structure Plan (ASP) lands, and extends more than a half-mile on all four sides of the ASP boundary.
“We brought together a series of complex issues to solve problems with (local infrastructure),” said Colin White, chair of the LTRC.
The committee was formed in 2013 from direction by council. It is made up of appointed members from Langdon Waterworks Ltd., - a private utility that supplies water to Langdon, Ducks Unlimited, the Western Irrigation District (WID), community members and RVC administration.
Consultants for the review used population modelling - taking into consideration the land’s development potential, land use structures and development densities – to determine solutions for servicing infrastructure needs in the future. White said the recommendations presented in the report are to be used by the County while developing an updated Langdon ASP and potential hamlet boundary adjustment. The work is included in the County’s 2014 budget.
According to the County’s 2013 census, Langdon has a population of 4,897, and was one of the fastest-growing hamlets in RVC since the last census in 2006.
“We’ve identified 30 recommendations in six categories. A lot of the recommendations are very specific in some instances, but there is a global strategic approach,” said White.
He told council the review showed the protection of Weed Lake – located northeast of Langdon – is the key factor to enabling future growth surrounding Langdon.
“It all boils down to the fact that everything (stormwater and treated sanitary sewer effluent) flows into Weed Lake,” he said, explaining that if water quality was decreased in the lake because of increased amounts of outfall from more development, it would limit the use of the water for irrigation of agricultural lands.
White said during the review process, stakeholders created a potential future solution to create a permanent outfall from Weed Lake to the WID’s irrigation canal to channel water to the Red Deer River. The solution aims to manage water levels and conditions in the lake.
He said a specific set of guidelines was identified and supported by all members of the committee for stormwater management on future development.
The report also identified that the communities of East Balzac, the Hamlet of Langdon and the Hamlet of Conrich are serviced by the East Rocky View Regional Sanitary Sewer System (ERVRSSS), and future growth would require an upgrade to the system to allow for more servicing. The report recommends the ERVRSSS include its own solids handling and disposal system, as sludge is currently being pumped into a holding tank and trucked into the City of Calgary.
White said the review also identified the current solid waste transfer and recycling facility in Langdon would have to be upgraded and relocated. The current location is on 505 Railway Avenue. According to the review, the County’s updated ASP should include an appropriate site the community supports.
The committee also suggested a need to update the systems at Langdon Waterworks Ltd., to meet future demands.
White said while costs weren’t identified in the review, the committee identified “they’d ultimately be borne by the development community.”
Local Councillor Rolly Ashdown was supportive of the recommendations.
“Council on an ongoing basis hears questions time-after-time about stormwater and what our sewage systems are. We look at proposals that come in front of us that don’t have solutions and we question the solutions that people do have… I find this refreshing that an area be chosen and that area be planned for (servicing),” said Ashdown.
Deputy Reeve Greg Boehlke also voiced his support for the recommendations, calling it “forward-thinking.”
The report that includes the recommendations were approved by council in an 8-1 vote, and will be included in the future development of an Area Structure Plan for Langdon.
Councillor Jerry Arshinoff voted opposed.
He said he believed there are too many stormwater issues in the Langdon area to consider large-scale growth in the future.
