The Springbank Community Planning Association (SCPA) hosted a public meeting at Springbank High School on March 2 to give residents of the area an opportunity to get more information about the proposed Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir announced by the Premier in September 2014 as the likely flood mitigation project for the area.
Despite this project being identified as a priority for the Government of Alberta, SCPA Acting Chair Gloria Wilkinson said local landowners are upset there hasn’t been more information made available to them.
“The government has chosen to have meetings in Calgary and in Cochrane, but not in Springbank – where we are the people who will be directly affected by this project,” she said. “We have these meetings to try and make sure (residents) have as much knowledge as we have.”
The proposed $250 million reservoir would be located south of Highway 1, east of Highway 22, and north of Highway 8 – requiring Springbank Road to be rerouted. During a flood, excess water would be diverted from the Elbow River through a canal, and would remain in the reservoir until it could be released back into the river in a controlled manner.
Alberta’s Assistant Deputy Minister of Operations, Matthew Machielse, attended the meeting to answer questions that have been concerning residents of the Springbank area. However, he said major decisions regarding the feasibility of the project have yet to be made.
“There is an assumption that everything is understood and this is the final thought, but it’s still under development,” he said. “This project was announced based on an initial design concept. We will likely give Stantec (the engineering firm tasked with the project) a year to complete further design work and assessments.”
According to Machielse, the engineering and consulting firm will determine what the landscape of the area is capable of supporting in terms of volume, and will examine potential environmental impacts on the area.
Residents present at the meeting expressed concern about why the government isn’t touching on the impact the potential development would have on area landowners, but Machielse said that will be evaluated by the Natural Resources Conservation Board once the technical feasibility of the project is understood.
“They will look at what is in the public interest for this project,” he said. “This is a faster and easier option than some of the other potential projects, but nothing is finalized yet.”
Chestermere-Rocky View MLA Bruce McAllister was in attendance at the meeting, and said he will work to ensure that the concerns of area residents are addressed during this process.
“I don’t think the government is going to proceed until they have the answers to all of the questions that people have been asking,” he said. “It’s my job to advocate for you and take those questions to the Premier and make sure they are heard.”
Groups of concerned residents like DontDamnSpringbank and DamMcLean plan to continue opposing the project as it moves forward. According to DontDamnSpringbank spokesperson Ryan Robinson, residents are hoping the government reconsiders the McLean Creek reservoir as a better solution, as it is located on government-owned land upstream of at-risk communities like Redwood Meadows and Bragg Creek.
“We love Springbank, and this is the place we call home,” said Robinson. “My family has strived for years to be good stewards of the land and to do what we can to maintain the natural environment here, and each one of the other families here also has a story. We are a tight community, and we hope the government will listen to our collective voice.”
