Rocky View County (RVC) council unanimously approved an agreement with the Province for grant funding of more than $2.35 million to build a permanent solution to flooding issues at Cochrane Lake.
Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resources Development (AESRD), which have provided the County with the grant, has jurisdiction over the waterways that could be used to address the issue. Since Cochrane Lake has no natural outfall, excess water from Cochrane Lake will be pumped to Horse Creek via a buried 10-inch pipe.
Flooding issues have plagued the area for the past four years, and were further complicated by the bankruptcy of the developer and the water utility that held AESRD licenses for the lake.
Currently, the water level at Cochrane Lake has been lowered by short-term emergency pumping provided by AESRD, but a permanent solution was necessary.
“Just by virtue of (the water level) being down by 4.5 feet, it’s not likely that we would have this problem next year, but the year after that it would definitely be possible,” said Councillor Jerry Arshinoff. “If we got so much moisture next year, though, the little hose going to Horse Creek won’t do any good anyway. We are deliberately taking what is a distant, distant second best solution, and we may have to do that, but first we should try for the one you know will work.”
Reeve Margaret Bahcheli said she didn’t see a difference between this “permanent solution” and the pumping the County did to Horse Creek for the last three out of four years.
“For three years, we pumped to Horse Creek and actually lost ground, and the lake continued to grow and grow until we were sandbagging houses,” she said. “Now the proposal is to pump to Horse Creek again and you’re telling me it won’t grow and grow and grow.”
RVC Engineering Services Manager Rick Wiljamaa said the challenge in previous years was with the above-ground piping, and the two pumps situated along the line. The new proposal, he said, would create less friction in the pipe and have a more efficient pumping system.
“The other big difference is that we are actually dealing with a lake level significantly less than we were dealing with previously,” he said. “We were losing ground at various times due to storm events, but with a buried pipe we will see a longer pumping season because we won’t have to worry about freezing as soon.”
According to RVC, both the Province and the County have spent “a significant amount of time” looking at alternatives to Horse Creek as the outfall for Cochrane Lake - including a pipeline to the Bow River. RVC said logistical and private-land access issues “complicated those possibilities,” leaving Horse Creek as the “only viable alternative that could be implemented in a cost- and time-efficient manner.”
Arshinoff made a motion to table the proposal until the next council meeting, and asked in the interim the Reeve request AESRD reconsider pumping water to the Bow River, instead of Horse Creek. However, only Arshinoff, Bahcheli, and Sacuta voted in favour of the motion and it failed 3-5.
“This solution should be done today to provide us with a level of safety,” said Area Councillor Bruce Kendall. “We can get a good start on it and come back to deal with any problems later.”
Kendall moved to accept the agreement with AESRD, and it was carried unanimously.
Thirty-year Cochrane Lake resident Gloria Wilson said that while she is glad to have the water out of her backyard, she would rather see the permanent solution done right the first time. “In my opinion, we are spending a few million dollars and it’s covered, so why not just do the right thing?” she said. “I am at a loss to understand why they do not want the permanent outflow to the Bow River.”
The AESRD grant is for a maximum of $2,352,137, with just over half of the budget going toward funding the new water management system. Remaining funds will cover the costs associated with repairing the slopes damaged in previous floods, lake water quality improvements, and reimbursing the county for pumping costs in 2014 and in previous years.
RVC has already repaired the slopes and conducted physical testing in the area, and are now in the final engineering design stages for the intake, pump station, pipeline, and outfall that will move water to Horse Creek when necessary. RVC is expected to be submitted to AESRD for approval in mid-November.
Completion dates cannot be identified until a review is completed, but the grant funding calls for all work to be completed by Mar. 31, 2016.
