Opponents of a provincial government proposal to build a dam on the Bow River just east of Cochrane are having trouble understanding why the project has even remained a possibility this long and they want the public’s support in telling the government to listen to them and kill the idea.
The public engagement process surrounding the proposed project to mitigate future flooding and drought issues began in 2021 to help identify and assess the potential socio-economic, environmental, and other impacts of each option.
There is no shortage of irony here – a project designed to mitigate flood damage would likely cause considerable flood damage.
Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation’s new CEO Jeromy Farkas is leading the charge against the East Glenbow option.
He said the public engagement process was and is flawed.
The public meetings and an online survey on the latest developments was posted on April 15 and closes May 6.
He said the reason the issue is not getting as much attention as he’d like is perhaps because the public is tired of hearing about the possibility of a dam on the Bow. It has been floated as a trial balloon for many years.
“The idea of flooding a park like Glenbow Ranch, it’s so obviously and transparently wrong and awful, so the thought that this could actually happen is deemed unlikely,” he said.
“People don’t realize this is under review. And they also don’t realize it would flood parts of Cochrane and wouldn’t protect Cochrane one tiny bit.”
He said the Glenbow Ranch Park has always had good relations with the provincial government but they couldn’t sit idly by and not speak up about this potentially destructive project.
And the public engagement process was sadly lacking, in their view.
“So we’re going to step up and fill that gap,” Farkas said.
There will be two more public meetings in other locations after the one in Cochrane.
Farkas is urging interested parties to log in to the government website to voice their opposition to what’s been dubbed the East Glenbow Dam option, a new reservoir between Cochrane and the Bearspaw Dam between Cochrane and Calgary.
He’s urging Albertans to fill out the online survey and come to a public information meeting he’s organizing on May 4 at the Frank Wills Hall in Cochrane from noon to 2 pm.
The other two options include relocating and expanding the Ghost reservoir or the dam in Morley, although the Morley option has been abruptly removed from the public feedback process, with no explanation from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.
The feedback process is now entering Stage Two, which includes a detailed hydrological study and potential selection of an option to proceed to Phase 3.
This round of engagement focuses on the Relocated Ghost Dam and Glenbow East options only.
The Morley option, according to the AEPA website, “is not ready for public engagement at this time.”
To fill out the survey or get more information go to alberta.ca/bow-river-reservoir-options-engagement.
A decision from the feasibility study expected at the end of 2024.
If a decision is indeed made to proceed to Phase Three, (engineering and regulatory approval) that would spark the detailed design and engineering of the recommended option, and pursuit of all required regulatory approvals. Phase Three would have an estimated timeline of 2025 to 2030.
The new reservoir could be in operation as soon as 2034.
Farkas noted a 2020 conceptual assessment done for Alberta Environment and Protected Places shows the berm of a dam for the Glenbow East option would run right through the pavilion building of Haskayne Legacy Park, and potentially submerge the western portion of the park that was only opened to the public last October.
If the Glenbow East option is built, Farkas said much of the Glenbow Ranch Park’s conservation lands outside of the park (valued at more than $8 million) will be lost, while about a third of Glenbow Ranch would be flooded, including historic grasslands that contribute to overall watershed health.
The two parks are the site of more than two dozen archaeological digs by the University of Calgary, many of which show uses of stone by First Nations people and include tipi rings and fire-broken rock.
And Farkas added that by flooding the tight narrows between the two parks, “the dream of a Calgary-to-Cochrane Bow River trail connection will be permanently impossible.”
Well-known philanthropists Dick and Lois Haskayne donated the land for the Legacy Park, valued at $5 million, and added $2 million towards the construction of the pavilion.
In the same 2020 government assessment, the estimated cost for Glenbow East would be $992 million, with Ghost Dam and Morley options at $917 million and $922 million respectively. The Morley price tag doesn’t include land swaps and other possible compensation.
At least 14 homes, it said, would be inundated by the dam-created reservoir, while “wildlife corridors on both sides of the river would be impacted.”
Farkas, in an open letter, said the GRPF supports the expansion of the Ghost Dam as their preferred option:
“This alternative significantly reduces the challenges associated with flood and drought management: Cochrane will be protected from a future flood, with protection upstream, Cochrane will be protected from a future drought, with more water available upstream during a water shortage, (and) no public parks will be lost.”
The province says it’ll announce a decision on the Bow River options early next year and insists it favours none of them.
Ryan Fournier, Press Secretary for Environment and Protected Places Minister Rebecca Schulz, in an emailed statement, said the department had done it’s due diligence:
“By any standard, engagement on the Bow River Reservoir options has been extensive and far-reaching. We have been engaging with public and local stakeholders on the Bow River Reservoir options for nearly three years.
“Engagement conducted from 2021-23 included virtual live sessions, in-person meetings with property owners, online webinars and dozens of meetings with stakeholder groups, including the Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation. The current public engagement is a follow-up to that important work.
“In total, more than three years of consultation will have been conducted on this project. The Morley site remains an option but is not ready for public engagement at this time.
“We will keep Albertans updated as this work continues.”
