In a decision made Tuesday, Rocky View County council voted to formally request that the Province reconsider the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir Project (SR1).   In a 16-page report presented to council on December 11, Rocky View County administration outlined a number of qualms with the project including lack of benefit for the county, incomplete technical evaluation of other upstream mitigation options, inadequate stakeholder engagement, and failure to address drought concerns.   Disappointingly, […]

Last week, MLA Greg Clark for Calgary-Elbow had the opportunity to question Transportation Minister Brian Mason about the Springbank Project.   Find out what the Minister said about the status of the regulatory process, consultation with Indigenous stakeholders, project timelines, and more in Clark’s letter to his constituents (shared below).   Clark also engaged the Municipal Affairs Minister Shaye Anderson, asking for an update on floodway development regulation and flood hazard maps.    View the video […]

Earlier this year, the provincial government announced three upstream storage options for the Bow River that were identified in the Bow River Water Management Project report in May 2017.   This month, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) awarded the contract for the Bow Basin Water Management Options Phase 1: Conceptual Assessment study (value $2M) to Wood Canada Limited, specifically its Environment & Infrastructure Solutions team located in Calgary.   Wood Canada Limited is a subsidiary […]

See! Big upstream mitigation projects can get regulatory approval!   Last week, the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) issued approval of the Cougar Creek debris and flood retention structure, after a review by the NRCB found the project to be in the public interest.   This is a huge milestone, bringing Canmore one step closer to getting the flood protection it so badly needs. It is also an encouraging development, […]

Earlier this year at our AGM, we welcomed Flood Free Calgary to the crusade for upstream mitigation in Calgary. They’ve been rallying the business community and emphasizing the message of economic risk; highlighting that if we lose our downtown core we will ALL lose.   They recently published a few blog posts with updates on upstream mitigation on the Bow River, West Eau Claire Park, and the Centre Street Bridge flood barrier that […]

We understand there are many documents to navigate in order to fully understand the progression of the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir Project (SR1), so we have compiled a list of key documents to make that process a bit easier.   We’ve included dates and notes to help you understand why these documents are important and where they fall on the SR1 timeline.   Key documents relating specifically to Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir […]

Over the past few months, the Calgary River Valleys organization has been working to improve riparian health on the banks of the Elbow River.   A test site has been established in the riparian zone of an Elbow River-adjacent property and, through the use of this model project, the group hopes to:   Research about people’s knowledge of riparian issues, Complete field work to modify an Elbow River adjacent homeowner’s riparian zone with new […]

In a letter to Alberta Transportation’s (proponent of the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir Project) Minister Brian Mason last month, Calgary-Elbow MLA Greg Clark called on the government to ensure they undertake comprehensive, two-way consultation with Indigenous peoples.   Read the September 28 media release publicizing the letter here.    Reflecting on the recent Federal Court of Appeals ruling on the Trans Mountain pipeline and the focus on Indigenous consultation contained in the […]

Bow River Basin Council’s quarterly education forum a valuable resource for watershed information   The Bow River Basin Council hosted their quarterly educational forum last month. We found the event to be very informative and we encourage you to attend future events.   For those who missed it, we’ve summarized the event and provided links to a few of the presentations.   The BRBC forums are free events open to the public. […]

In May 2018, a Notice of Application was filed by six landowners seeking to quash the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA)’s decision that the revised Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) conformed to the required guidelines set forth earlier by the CEAA.   We’ve learned that this application has been withdrawn. The federal court hearing that was scheduled for November has been canceled and this matter will not proceed any further.   […]