If the consultants hired by the Town of Cochrane to look into potential impacts of a proposed dam on the Bow River are right, it’s time for Council to step up and let the province know they are not going to sit idly by while their town is put at risk, say local critics.
The Glenbow East Option is one of two possible billion-dollar flood/drought mitigation projects being considered by Alberta Environment and Protected Areas (AEPA) for the Bow River.
If built, the result would be damage to Glenbow Ranch Provincial Park, and the newly opened Haskayne Legacy Park next door would be destroyed. The proposed berm would go right through the middle of the pavilion at the new park, which had a ribbon-cutting just eight months ago.
The potential impacts on Cochrane had not been articulated – until Monday night.
The consultants – Urban Systems of Calgary were retained to complete a cursory level review of the work completed so far by the Alberta government.
Submitted to Town Council Monday night, their report outlined a number of areas where the proposed Glenbow East Dam option could have repercussions.
The stormwater facility in the Riviera community could experience backwater effects, reducing its capacity and potentially causing flooding in homes; parts of Griffin Road, including the Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge, would be flooded, disrupting transportation, and key facilities and pipelines could be damaged during floods.
Flooding could affect the SLS Centre and pathways along the Bow River. About 5.5 km of pathways would be underwater; increased winter water levels could worsen ice damming.
The Greystone Neighbourhood Plan could face reduced stormwater capacity, risking flooding in new developments; future developments could be significantly flooded, requiring expensive floodproofing in Robinson Lands, and Southbow Landing would lose developable land, and planned stormwater facilities would need relocation.
The consultants report says the government study only considers existing residential development along the Bow River but does not consider planned/future development impacts, or major existing transportation, and stormwater management infrastructure. Specific impacts, and potential increased risks to the Jack Tennant Memorial Bridge (piers, deck, and embankments) would need to be assessed.
Glenbow Ranch Park Foundation (GRPF) chair Georg Paffrath said the report validates what the foundation has been saying all along .
“We always said we want to see the facts and not get people over-excited, and this report states exactly what we were saying, and actually goes a bit further,” Paffrath said.
“This option is unacceptable, and there is a better option on the table,” he said.
The consultant’s report concludes with the suggestion that the Town should articulate their concerns to the province, and ask them to fully evaluate any potential impacts if the Glenbow East option is pursued further.
Town administration will now draft a letter to the province for approval at the next regular council meeting.
Local officials respond
Councillors Patrick Wilson and Morgan Nagel both expressed disappointment the Glenbow East option was even being considered by the province.
Coun. Alex Reed called the report “very sobering.”
He said the Glenbow East option does nothing to protect Cochrane and could cost millions of dollars.
“We take it very seriously and will do whatever we can as a council to solve the problem,” he said.
Coun. Susan Flowers said the unpopular dam option is still on the table because there hasn’t been enough noise.
“Not enough squeaky wheels . . . I want to see a letter as soon as we can and as strong as we can make it,” she added.
“We need to act now,” Mayor Jeff Genung urged. “The province needs to hear now, what the impacts to Cochrane are.”
“It still baffles me that a year after we’re cutting the ribbon at Haskayne Park we’re talking about flooding it,” Genung said.
Ray Leonard drove out from Calgary to hear the consultant’s report. He wasn’t surprised the provincial government was still considering the increasingly unpopular Glenbow East dam.
“It’s typically high-handed of the UCP government, who thinks they’re babysitting the population. They should be taking those kinds of outlier options and disregarding them already,” Leonard said.
Minister of Infrastructure and Airdrie-Cochrane MLA Peter Guthrie also does not support the Glenbow East Option.
“I don’t support it now and I will not support it later,” he said.
He offers a bit of background that might ease some fears, albeit requiring a little reading between the lines.
He said there are federal overtones and rules that affect the exploratory stages of projects like this.
“When you do that, you can’t just look at one spot, you need to look at all possible locations. You have to be able to show you’ve done your due diligence,” he said.
“So really, that’s what this is. I feel pretty confident that (the Glenbow East Option) doesn’t make sense, and I think that will come out in the feasibility study.”
