As part of the Province’s ongoing flood mitigation efforts, the Minister of Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Robin Campbell announced plans for a proposed Springbank Road off-stream reservoir and the McLean Creek Dry Dam on April 30.
The proposed Springbank reservoir is designed to help control Elbow River flow rates during a flood and help protect residents and property in Rocky View County and Calgary.
The reservoir would temporarily store flood water and release it back to the Elbow River in a controlled manner when the flood subsides.
“Our government is committed to ensuring Albertans are protected as much as possible from future flood events while at the same time respecting taxpayers’ dollars. Moving forward with the projects and funding announced today is an important step toward reducing the impact of future floods on Alberta’s people, infrastructure, economy and environment,” said Campbell.
Springbank Councillor Jerry Arshinoff thinks a reservoir is a good idea but says he does not like the fact County councillors were not told about the plan until April 30.
“I guess the biggest thing I have a problem with is, is you’d think that Rocky View County would have been told it was being planned, but to be fair it’s a long way off to completion,” said Springbank Councillor Jerry Arshinoff.
Arshinoff declined to comment on the schematics of the proposed projects.
“We’ve had multiple conversation with municipalities throughout the province, but also with engineering consultants that were hired to do the work,” said Jason Penner, public affairs officer with Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development.
“The whole time there’s been multiple projects in play, we always try to do the best job we can to keep people informed, but there was a lot of work in a short amount of time.”
The peak flow rate of the Elbow River entering Glenmore Reservoir was approximately 700 cubic metres per second during the June 2013 flood. City of Calgary officials indicate a flow rate of 180 cubic metres per second can be accommodated along the Elbow River downstream from the Glenmore Reservoir without taking flood precautions, like sandbagging.
The Springbank Road off-stream reservoir would have storage capacity of 59 million cubic metres. The reservoir and the McLean Creek dry dam upstream would significantly reduce flows of the Elbow River during a flood, according to the Province.
The Springbank project consists of a diversion weir - a barrier across the river - on the Elbow River, a 4.5-kilometre long canal to carry water from the river to the off-stream reservoir, and improvements to natural channels to release water back to the river.
The reservoir will be 15 kilometres west of Calgary near Springbank Road, north of the Elbow River and east of Highway 22.
“Because of the effectiveness of the reservoir and the location, and the ability to build is relatively quickly it is not conditional on anything,” Penner explained.
According to the Province, the McLean Creek Dry Dam on the Elbow River Basin, will help control river flow rates during a flood and help protect residents and property in Rocky View County, Bragg Creek, Redwood Meadows (Tsuu T’ina Nation), and Calgary.
“There was no consultation with the County,” said Bragg Creek Councillor Liz Breakey who added that she attended all the water symposiums on flood mitigation.
“Bragg Creek is in bad shape right now, a lot is going on and we’re working hard to build confidence in future projects.”
Breakey added the County didn’t have an official stance on the proposed projects, but will be meeting to discuss them.
A date for the meeting was not known as of press time.
According to the Province, the conceptual design is complete and community consultation is underway.
No dates or locations have been released by the Province as of press time.
A decision on this project will be made after the Calgary underground diversion feasibility study is complete.
“What we’re going to do is make a final decision on McLean Creek after we get the feasibility study for the (Calgary) underground tunnel, we’re going to make that decision soon,” Penner said.
The feasibility study for the Calgary underground tunnel is expected in June, according to Penner.
The dry dam will be 50 metres high and will be built on the Elbow River near the McLean Creek confluence off Highway 66, southwest of Bragg Creek.
The dam will have a storage capacity of 49 million cubic metres.
The project will require relocation of a portion of Highway 66 and the highway’s bridge over the Elbow River.
“Consultation is going to continue, it’s not the end, it’s the beginning of the next stage,” said Penner. “Leaders and the general public will continue to be informed on the progress.”
