With both good news and bad news, the release of Budget 2020 has brought clarity to a few of our flood mitigation funding concerns. Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1) GOOD NEWS: The project remains fully funded to $432 million. The total capital plan funding for province-wide flood projects remains at $386 million, for the next four years, which is essentially the previous budgeted capital expenditure number less the almost $50 million […]

Canmore’s Cougar Creek debris and flood retention structure has received final approval from the province and construction on the project will begin this summer. As we said previously… See! Big upstream mitigation projects can get regulatory approval! This approval comes just over a year after the Natural Resources Conservation Board (NRCB) review found the project to be in the public interest and issued its original approval in November 2018. The […]

Help shape and inform the 2020 provincial budget by completing a short three-question online survey by Friday, February 7 at 4:30 p.m. Complete the online survey here Remember, Budget 2019 saw a serious reduction in the Alberta Community Resilience Program funding allocation for Calgary and no money budgeted to proceed to the next step of the Bow River reservoir project. Read more: Budget concerns for flood mitigation projects—your input is needed […]

Alberta’s Finance Minister Honourable Travis Towes is holding a telephone town hall tonight, and Albertans are invited to provide feedback to help shape and inform the provincial budget. This is an excellent opportunity to get vocal about prioritizing budget money to support flood mitigation projects. Remember, Budget 2019 saw a serious reduction in the Alberta Community Resilience Program funding allocation for Calgary and no money budgeted to proceed to the next […]

This month, the City of Calgary made public its agreements with Calgary Sports and Entertainment Corp. (CSEC) for the arena deal approved last July. It’s no secret that the land slated for the new arena is in the floodplain, and that could end up costing the City — and taxpayers — significantly.  Unless we’re protected like we should be.  Unless the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir (SR1) is built, that is. The […]

With 2019 behind us, we’ve compiled a quick recap of what the year brought and a preview of what to anticipate in 2020. 2019 recap Provincial election In the lead-up to the provincial election in April, we surveyed each party on key flood mitigation issues and put pressure on those who had not yet declared publically their commitment to SR1. Related to these efforts, in January we formed a coalition […]

As part of the Bow Basin Water Management Options (BBWMO) project, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) has spent the past year working through the conceptual assessment of 10 upstream reservoir options. In September, AEP announced the three shortlisted reservoir options, hosted public information sessions, and solicited public feedback. The final report on the first phase – the conceptual assessment – of the BBWMO project is expected in Q1 2020. Phase 2 […]

Alberta Transportation has submitted responses to all Round 1 SR1 information requests from the federal regulator, the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada (IAAC). It is expected that these latest responses (to the IAAC’s July 16, 2019 deficiency questions) will satisfy the regulator. If so, the Round 1 information requests will be considered complete and ready for review. The following is a notice provided by Alberta Transportation: On June 14, 2019, […]

Since the recent release of the budget by the Kenney government, we’ve worked to understand its implications to the numerous flood mitigation projects slated to protect Calgary. We’ve discussed these implications with Alberta Transportation, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP), and the City of Calgary. We’ve summarized what will be impacted and what we know so far. Alberta Transportation – responsible for Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir Project (SR1) on the Elbow RiverAlberta Environment and Parks – […]

Last month we breathed a brief sigh of relief when CBC’s Robson Fletcher published his extremely well-researched and well-balanced article, Why 3 Alberta governments chose Springbank to protect Calgary. For years the Springbank Off-Stream Reservoir project (SR1) has endured media coverage with often incomplete information, inaccuracies, and distractions. Rarely has a media outlet produced such thorough coverage of the complex SR1 file, so for this, we owe him a thank-you. […]