The Government of Alberta announced it’s investing an additional $10.3 million to protect homes, businesses and infrastructure in Canmore on Friday (May 26).
The money represents final funding for a $48.6-million debris retention structure at Cougar Creek and is part of $63 million earmarked in Budget 2017 to help Alberta communities and organizations adapt to severe weather events and a changing climate.
“Flood resiliency is an important issue in many communities across Alberta, and I know is a top priority here in Canmore as well,” said Banff-Cochrane MLA Cam Westhead.
“Canmore town council has taken a leadership role on flood mitigation. The town has made tremendous progress on key flood mitigation projects, including erosion control work on the Bow River and reinforcement of the creekbeds and banks of Cougar Creek.”
The 100 metre wide debris dam will help ensure public safety by holding back dangerous landslide and flood debris, and help keep evacuation routes clear during severe weather events.
“The people of Canmore have first-hand experience of how a flood can disrupt lives, businesses and the local economy. This debris dam demonstrates the importance of collaboration in keeping communities like Canmore safe,” said Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks and Minister Responsible for the Climate Change Office.
Funding for the structure along Cougar Creek builds on $20.4 million in previous provincial funding, along with more than $14 million from the federal government. The Town of Canmore will cover the remaining costs of the project.
“This is a great day, we’ve been working towards this for four years now, hard to believe, and it was a bit of a leap of faith for the council in July of 2013 to move forward on this project all on our own,” said Mayor John Borrowman. “We had confidence the province would come in as partners with us on this project and the province did that.”
When complete, the debris dam will be capable of holding back up to 650,000 cubic metres of water and mountain debris. The grant will also help pay for an access road for structural maintenance and other infrastructure at the site.
“This planned structure will protect thousands of Canmore residents during a flood event, while safeguarding critical infrastructure vital to our community. This funding will bring us one step closer to making Canmore even more resilient,” said Borrowman.
The province has provided more than $160 million through the Alberta Community Resilience Program since 2015. Grants have gone towards flood barriers, erosion control, storm-water management, safeguards for critical municipal water-management infrastructure and other high-priority flood-mitigation projects in 40 municipalities and two First Nations.
“Whether it’s flood barriers, erosion control spurs along the riverbank or investments in municipal water management infrastructure, community level mitigation projects are at the heart of our efforts to help cities and towns adapt to a changing climate where severe weather events are more common,” said Westhead.
“During a flood, our steep mountain creeks can quickly and with little warning bring down damaging debris that threatens our homes, businesses and infrastructure. This was the case here along Cougar Creek in June 2013 and we’re taking another step forward towards mitigating this risk in making our community safer.”
