MOUNTAIN VIEW COUNTY – Although none of the 10 high-priority flood mitigation projects announced for $45 million in provincial funding Oct. 8 are in this region, announcements regarding further projects will be coming soon, says Jason Nixon, minister of Environment and Parks and area MLA.
“This should not in any way be taken as our flood mitigation is done,” Nixon said. “The reality is the Alberta government has made a commitment since 2013 to work across the province to be able to put in significant projects that will be able to help mitigate severe weather events in communities like Sundre.
“We will have more announcements in the coming months when it comes to flood mitigation in the province.”
Projects receiving the $45 million announced last week include new infrastructure projects in the Municipal District of Bighorn designed to prevent flooding.
Asked if officials in this area have told him there are flood mitigation projects they would like to see funded, he said the province has not received applications from Rocky Mountain House or the Town of Sundre for flood mitigation grant funding through either the Alberta Community Resilience Program (ACRP) or a previous program, the Flood Recovery Erosion Control Program (FREC).
“However, Mountain View County received nearly $4 million through FREC for erosion control work near Range Road 52 and various drainage and erosion control mitigation works, including drainage capacity improvements, in the area of MacDougall Flats and the Coal Camp hamlet,” he said.
Area officials have asked the province to move forward with the release of new flood mapping, he said.
“The biggest ask from Mountain View County and the community of Sundre is very similar to rural municipalities across the province, which is for us to release the flood mapping and to finish the investment into flood mapping in the province,” he said.
“We have done that and have begun to role that out in sections across the province.
“That’s probably the biggest tool our municipalities are looking for right now, those clear maps so they can make hazard plans and from that be able to determine where they need to put in mitigation projects or need help from other levels of government.”
There are two flood mapping studies that cover the Sundre, Mountain View County, and Rocky Mountain House area -- one completed in the summer of 2019 and the other set to be completed in 2022.
The Upper Red Deer River study was completed in summer 2019.
It covers 80 kilometres of the Red Deer River from Coal Camp to Gleniffer Lake and 18 kilometres of Bearberry Creek from Rge. Rd. 62 to its confluence with the Red Deer River in Sundre.
