With no dykes yet constructed to protect their community located along the Elbow River from floods, some Bragg Creek residents are concerned that their hamlet is vulnerable and may suffer again from the devastating consequences of future flooding.
Recently, Bragg Creek resident Gail Gold sent a letter, signed by other concerned residents of the community, to Rocky View County (RVC) administration, the province’s environment minister, Bragg Creek’s MLA and federal MP, to inform each that she and her fellow citizens support flood mitigation for their community.
The letter of support requested that local flood mitigation structures, such as dykes, be built as soon as possible to help protect the community from future flooding, according to Gold.
“Who is to say there will not be another flood like 2013 in the near future?” said Gold. “I don’t think Bragg Creek businesses and homes will be able to survive another flood disaster like we had in 2013. We hope that we will have protection in terms of built dykes before the next spring run-off in 2015.”
Last spring, the province hired AMEC Environment & Infrastructure to conduct a flood mitigation feasibility study for the Bow and Elbow Rivers, as well as the Oldman River Basins.
AMEC’s report, Conceptual Design of Flood Defences at Bragg Creek June 2014, recommended that flood defences, if necessary, be constructed as soon as possible in Bragg Creek and estimated that the total cost of the dykes would be $6,173,000.
When asked for a specific timeline as to when the Bragg Creek dykes would be built, neither provincial nor county representatives interviewed could provide an answer.
In July, RVC administration received a letter from the province’s Environment and Sustainable Resource Development’s Resilience and Mitigation Branch, which committed $6,173,000 in funding for Bragg Creek flood mitigation projects.
RVC’s general manager of infrastructure and operation services, Byron Riemann, said since that development, the county has applied to the province’s Municipal Affairs Department for an $180,000 staffing grant to complete additional engineering to further validate the concept of the dykes, and then take this concept to the next level.
The county has hired MPE Engineering to lead the project and provide detailed engineering and design work, said Riemann.
“We are in the very early stages of the engineering to support the concept.”
Minister of the Environment and Sustainable Resource Development Kyle Fawcett said the province has made a commitment that the communities impacted by the 2013 floods would be provided resources.
He said the province would work with RVC to provide protection for Bragg Creek from future floods.
“The province has approved the funding and will provide money to Rocky View to manage the project and build the dykes,” said Fawcett. “We are building these dykes, as they are an important project for Bragg Creek.”
Gold said even though the province and county have already done a lot of mitigation work for Bragg Creek, the community is still vulnerable.
“We came pretty close (to flooding again) with the heavy rainfalls last June, and we didn’t have any protection,” said Gold. “We appreciate what the province and RVC have already done, but without further protection we are still vulnerable to flooding.”
Banff-Cochrane MLA Ron Casey said he understands the anxiety that Bragg Creek residents have with regards to flooding.
“There is no question that there needs to be something done to reduce the risks of future flooding in Bragg Creek, and the province understands the necessity of this mitigation work,” said Casey. “Hopefully, since these funds (are committed), and the project is at the design phase, that will relieve some of their concerns.”
Macleod MP John Barlow said his office has received many calls from his constituents regarding the need for flood mitigation.
Barlow said he recently met with Minister Fawcett and they discussed plans for future mitigation protection for Bragg Creek.
“I am confident that the community’s flood issues will be addressed,” said Barlow. “I received assurances from the minister that these dykes will be built for Bragg Creek.”
Gold said even though a number of businesses have closed down and some flood-affected residents are still not back in their homes, she is proud of how her community came together to help each other after the flood.
“We have a great community and we would love to see it flourish,” said Gold. “There are a lot of good things happening in Bragg Creek, so we need flood protection so that we can continue to prosper and grow.”
