More than 100 people attended an information open house at the Sundre Legion Hall on Thursday to discuss the possible construction of an upgraded flood protection berm on the Red Deer River upstream of Sundre.“We've got to come up with a plan to deal with the river,” said Mountain View County Division 6 councillor Paddy Munro, who hosted the meeting.“People know that we have to do something, even though we are not exactly sure what. And we've got to have community involvement in the process.”High water on the Red Deer River this past spring flooded public and private land west of Sundre.At the direction of MVC council, Matrix Solutions has prepared several cost estimates for a berm that would stretch about four kilometres along the north side of the river starting at Rgd. Rd. 6.1 and running southeast to below Coyote Creek.A fully armoured berm could cost an estimated $5.4 million, while one with limited armouring could cost $1.2 million.The berm would be an extension of a shorter berm built at the west end of the site in 2011.County council has not passed any motion to move forward with the construction of an upgraded berm system, nor has the provincial government committed any money towards construction.During the Sundre meeting, Sam Campkin, who owns property in Sundre and at Coyote Creek Golf and RV Resort west of Sundre, said the flooding danger is a concern to both town and county residents.Sundre-area resident Dennis Overguard said one solution may be to clear debris out of former river channels, allowing floodwaters further avenues to move downstream.Bergen-area resident Shelly Ingeveld, whose property runs along the south bank of the Red Deer River, told the meeting that “this council to attempt to control this river is unacceptable.”“This is tantamount to taking control of the weather,” said Ingeveld. “Who do you help, while hurting others? We intend to hold this council accountable.“If flood control berms continue to be constructed on the north side of the river, spring flood waters will not be allowed to overflow the north bank as they usually do. If waters cannot go north, their only option is to go south.“The river needs to follow its natural flows, and man must stop interfering. Interfering with nature in this way always results in bigger problems down the road.”Sundre town councillor Myron Thompson, who is the chairman of the recently formed Red Deer River Quality Control Committee, said the committee is in favour of a new berm at the site.He also said the committee believes a dam built further upstream could provide long-term flood protection.The committee is calling on residents to write letters expressing their concerns about flooding danger.The committee will be collecting the letters, which can be dropped off at the Sundre Museum, and taking them personally to Premier Alison Redford in Edmonton in October, he said.Thompson said all stakeholders should be concerned about the extensive damage future high water could cause unless further flood protection work is undertaken.MVC CAO Tony Martens told the meeting that the county has been trying to convince the provincial government that it should pay for flood protection work.“Why aren't they paying for the protection? That's one of the arguments we are using with the province,” said Martens.The possibility of having county residents pay a portion of the berm construction cost through local improvement taxes did not come up at the meeting.Following the meeting, Munro said he “forgot” to raise the issue of a possible local improvement tax at the meeting.“I wish somebody else would have brought it up, but clearly that is not my choice. That's a bad thing,” said Munro.Asked if he foresees the county and county residents putting money towards a new berm upstream of Sundre, he replied, “I think that's to be seen. As far as the county involvement with money and also a local improvement tax, that remains to be seen.”Munro said residents should be encouraged to take an active role in getting the province to pay for an upgraded berm.“Everybody has got to start writing letters to Alison Redford telling her about our need for permanent solutions,” he said. “We are saying to the province, ‘You own this river so you should build this berm. You take responsibility for the berm'. I want to stress that it's the province's responsibility.”At the latest MVC council meeting, councillors passed a motion calling for an update of the berm design plans, at a cost $15,750.
