Residents living on Cochrane Lake continue to battle water woes, as the artificial lake reaches record level highs — more than two meters above the maximum water table of 1,281 meters.
“When we built (in 2007) the shoreline was out 100 meters from the fence,” explained Monterra resident, Alex Cummings, 86, gesturing to his sinking fence line and swimming trees at the edge of his property off his back deck, where the water has pooled some four-meters inside his property.
Rocky View County (RVC) and Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development (AESRD) have joined forces to take the lead on lowering water levels and working toward a long-term mitigation solution for the lake.
Two pumps have been put into Cochrane Lake explained Jaime Hanlon, spokesperson for AESRD, adding that RVC is operating the pumps with the support from AESRD.
Hanlon said that one pump has been pumping water into Horse Creek for the third year in a row and a second emergency pump is redirecting some of the water into Big Hill Creek as of July 11.
Both solutions are temporary and the water output is limited, as AESRD is being careful that pumping out too much water doesn’t cause concerns for the water tables in either of the creeks being pumped into.
Hanlon said a more permanent solution of pumping into the Bow River is currently in the works, but that “logistical challenges have had to be overcome” — including working with a series of landowners, as a pipeline route would run across their lands and addressing the train track crossing — in order to access the Bow River.
“Parties are working to find that solution,” he said, adding that in the interim, a meter will be put on both pumps to determine flow rates out of Cochrane Lake.
“None of the current costs will be absorbed by the residents,” explained Grant Kaiser, manager of communications for RVC.
“However, some Cochrane Lake residents are concerned with the length of time it is taking to deal with immediate concerns and to develop a permanent fix. They have asked RVC to investigate a Local Improvement Tax (LIT).”
Kaiser explained that if approved by council, this would allow RVC to step in (pending AESRD’s approval) and to implement a more permanent solution, so that residents would not have to wait for complex negotiations between ‘AESRD, a bankrupt developer and the current water utility’ as residents would pay for a LIT-driven solution.
Hanlon said that the water license holder was previously Regional Water Services Limited (RWSL), now insolvent.
For Cummings, he hopes for a speedy resolution that will bring water levels back down to acceptable levels for all residents who live on Cochrane Lake and are being impacted with property damages from the high water levels.
