The Province has launched the Round 2 public engagement for the Bow River Reservoir Project (BRRO) feasibility study. This engagement period is 3-weeks and will close on May 6, so get your survey comments in quick.
Before you submit, visit the Virtual Centre. It features display boards, an interactive tool, a video and reports to help people learn more about the initiative and the feasibility study.
Click here for the survey
About the survey:
- This questionnaire is collecting feedback to inform the Option Evaluation Framework, which will provide insights into any potential impacts or benefits of each reservoir option.
- Framework evaluation factors were developed with input gathered throughout the BRRO initiative from Indigenous communities and organizations, stakeholders, and the public.
- The survey format invites you to rank the various categories and factors in the framework.
- This feedback will help determine the appropriate weighting to apply for each factor in the framework.
- The survey will take 5 to 15 minutes to complete and closes May 6, 2024.
More details on this public engagement period are available in the official BRRO update below.
See more on the BRRO’s public engagement program here: https://www.alberta.ca/bow-river-reservoir-options-engagement.
The Feasibility Study is Phase 2 of the project, the outcome of which will recommend a preferred single option that should proceed to Phase 3: Engineering and Regulatory Approval Process. The anticipated timeline for completion of Phase 2 is December 2024, and a decision on which option should proceed is expected in early-2025 (timeline pictured below).
The below notice was distributed by the Province on April 15, 2024 to subscribers of the BRRO Email Updates list. To join this list and receive these updates directly, subscribe here at the bottom of the page.””
The Bow River Reservoir Options
Phase 2: Feasibility Study
April 2024 Update
Thank you for your continued interest in the Bow River Reservoir Options (BRRO) initiative. As part of our commitment to provide regular updates on the initiative, we would like to share information on the results of Round 1 engagement and the plans for Round 2 engagement with you.
The current stage of the initiative is indicated in the graphic below. For more details on the BRRO initiative, including feasibility study updates and engagement opportunities, please visit: https://www.alberta.ca/bow-river-reservoir-options.aspx.
We look forward to continuing our discussions with you.
The Bow River Reservoir Options Study Team
Round 1 Engagement Results
From June 16 to June 30, 2021, we invited Albertans to share their thoughts on the three options of the Bow River Reservoir initiative through an online survey and virtual open house.
Almost 900 comments were received from the end of the Phase 1: Conceptual Assessment (March 2020) to the end of Round 1 of the Phase 2: Feasibility Study (March 2023). Comments were similar to what was heard in Phase 1, but there were more comments about engineering, construction, water management and operations, and fewer comments related to protecting Calgary and Cochrane.
Overall, the most common feedback was:
- Protect parks and the environment
- Don’t impact homes and property
- Further study is required on alternatives to building a dam
- More direct engagement is needed with property owners
- Water management and operations are important to consider
You can view the Round 1 What we heard report online. The report analyzes the data and insights gained from stakeholder and public feedback collected from May 2021 to March 2023. Indigenous engagement input is being shared directly with the community or organization that provided it.
The feasibility study continues to evaluate all three reservoir options. No option has been identified as a preferred option at this time. At the completion of the feasibility study, the Alberta government will consider the study findings when making a decision on if there is a preferred single option that should proceed to Phase 3: Engineering and Regulatory Approval Process.
Round 2 Engagement
The feasibility study continues to look at reservoir options in the Bow River basin upstream of Calgary. This round of engagement focuses on the Relocated Ghost Dam and Glenbow East options only:
- Relocated Ghost Dam: An expansion of the existing Ghost Reservoir
- Glenbow East: A new reservoir between Cochrane and the Bearspaw Dam at the western edge of Calgary
Note: The Morley option is not ready for public engagement at this time.
Alberta Environment and Protected Areas is seeking feedback on the Bow River Reservoir Options initiative as part of the Phase 2: Feasibility Study. Your feedback will help the Alberta government assess options to mitigate the impacts of both flood and drought on the Bow River.
Environment and Protected Areas is collecting feedback, through a questionnaire, to finalize the Option Evaluation Framework. The framework will be used to enhance understanding of potential impacts and benefits of each reservoir option. Evaluation factors for the framework were developed based on the work completed by the study team as well as input gathered throughout the BRRO initiative from Indigenous communities and organizations, stakeholders, and the public.
Find out more and participate in this engagement by visiting The Virtual Information Centre. The questionnaire will be available 24/7 from April 15 through May 6, 2024. The Virtual Information Centre will continue to remain available on the BRRO initiative website after that time. Mail outs have also been sent to Indigenous communities and organizations and property owners.
| Spotlight on: Option Evaluation Framework |
| The Option Evaluation Framework will assist the Government of Alberta to evaluate and compare the reservoir options. The Option Evaluation Framework is a type of decision-making tool used to help evaluate complex options. It involves identifying factors (i.e. flood attenuation potential, Municipal impacts, vegetation impacts, total cost, etc.) and assigning them a numerical value of importance. This is what we are looking for public input on. The screening criteria from the Bow River Reservoir Options – Phase 1: Conceptual Assessment (2018-2020) were the starting point for the Option Evaluation Framework. Each factor is made up of many inputs, based on work completed by the study team as well as input provided by Indigenous communities and organizations, stakeholders, and the public.The study team will develop metrics for each factor – a way to quantify its benefits and impacts. |
Each metric will have a scale, and each factor will be scored using the metric and its scale. Scoring of factors and categories will be included in the feasibility study report. Once all the individual
factors have a score, they will be added up to provide an unweighted score for each category. Environment and Protected Areas will develop weightings for the categories and factors. Then,
each option (in this case, each of the Bow River reservoir location options) is assessed at how well it meets each category. The scores for each category and the weighting determined by Environment and Protected Areas will help the Alberta government determine if there is a preferred single option that should proceed to Phase 3. Other information provided in the feasibility study report and other things outside the feasibility study will also be considered in making this decision.
Contact us at epa.bowbasin@gov.ab.ca or call 310-3773, toll-free.
Thank you for your attention to this matter and we encourage you to submit your comments by May 6.
If you’d like to get in touch with us, you can reach us at info@crcactiongroup.com.
Regards,
CRCAG Board