In a move praised by the City of Calgary but drawing ire of local landowners and county officials, the provincial government announced plans to move forward on the Springbank Dry Dam project. On Oct.
In a move praised by the City of Calgary but drawing ire of local landowners and county officials, the provincial government announced plans to move forward on the Springbank Dry Dam project.
On Oct. 26, Alberta Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips announced the $297-million plan to construct the major reservoir to protect Calgary from Elbow River flooding, with additional flood mitigation projects slated for farther upstream on the Elbow River aimed at protecting Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows in the event of future flooding.
As reported by CBC, Calgary mayor Naheed Nenshi was pleased with the decision, saying the city was “very, very supportive of the creation of the Springbank off-stream reservoir, ” at the press conference.
He was also quoted say the new reservoir is projected to “attenuate ” 81 per cent of the water that deluged Calgary over the course of the historic 2013 flood.
Rocky View County Reeve Margaret Bahcheli, meanwhile, did not share Nenshi's enthusiasm. She expressed, in a press release, the county's disappointment at the Alberta government's decision to pursue the Springbank Dry Dam flood mitigation project “instead of completing a full analysis of all options, and releasing the results publicly. ”
“No one wants to see Calgary flooded again, but the province has the opportunity to do so much more, ” Bahcheli was quoted as saying. “There is a duty to Albertans to protect tax dollars, and conducting a sound, progressive analysis of all the available options will do that.
“The province is making a grand gesture to Calgary, while ignoring the need for a solid base of investigation and analysis to support the decision. ”
Bahcheli appreciates the Alberta government's commitment to spend $33 million on fortifying river banks and other flood-mitigation projects in Bragg Creek, but the county has yet to determine the value of some of the initiatives before developing a plan for completing them.
An alternative project at McLean Creek was proposed and favoured by the group “Don't Damn Springbank, ” a coalition of residents, business owners and community groups opposed to the Springbank Dry Dam.
They have long argued that the now-accepted proposal will fail to protect Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows. On Oct. 26, the group announced their disappointment at the decision via their Facebook page, arguing the NDP under Premier Rachel Notley have broken their promise not to proceed with the Springbank dam.
The Springbank project will be located about 15 kilometres west of Calgary, south of Highway 1, east of Highway 22 and north of Highway 8.
During future flood events, excess water will be diverted from the Elbow River to the reservoir and stored until water levels return to normal.
