Business owners in Patton Industrial Park may soon have a solution for flooding and stormwater concerns.
Rocky View councillors unanimously authorized staff to begin operation and maintenance of a $37,000-per-year stormwater irrigation system in the park to mitigate problems caused by the excess water, July 19.
The system will irrigate about 20 acres of County-owned municipal reserve, aiding in the evaporation of approximately 60,000 cubic metres of water per year.
“(The problem is) undersized stormwater facilities,” said Rob Deverell, the County’s Engineering Implementation Supervisor. “(There is) a lot of flooding, a lot of upset business owners and residents. In the wet times, I would describe it as chaotic.”
Developer contributions, already in reserve, will be used to fund installation and operation of the system for the first two years. Staff will use this time as a test period to identify and fix deficiencies and to try to decrease the water in nearby stormwater ponds to manageable levels.
After two years, the County will either fund the system through general tax revenue or through a possible utility charge to benefiting owners.
Councillor Earl Solberg said the County should also consider several green solutions, such as planting trees and constructing future buildings with green roofs to mitigate flooding concerns, which are worsened by moisture-impervious asphalt developments.
He also said the problem of excess water, widespread in Division 5, should be considered as a potential asset to the water-deficient County.
“We need to plan for a reservoir somewhere in the area,” said Solberg. “We should be looking at changing the liability of the stormwater into an asset.”
