News
Sports
Weather
Classifieds
Opinions
Obituaries
Special Reports

Home
About Us
FAQ
Links
Advertising

Carstairs Courier
Didsbury Review
Innisfail Province
Mountain View Gazette
Olds Albertan
Sundre Round Up

Commercial Printing
Great West Newspapers

Sundre town council has passed a motion to adopt one of four options recommended to repair and prevent erosion on the Red Deer River in southwest Sundre.

The town-commissioned “River Engineering Study and Design of River Bank Protection Works at Riverside RV Park – January 2010” report, prepared by Stantec, recommended four options. During last week’s council meeting, councillors adopted Option 2.

That $2,338,000 (estimated cost) option calls the construction of four unprotected spurs, (which are embankments, dyke or berm, which are constructed more or less perpendicular to the river bank), ten protected spurs, 90 metres of bank protection, and habitat compensation, contingency and engineering.

The spurs are designed to straighten and direct flows in order to transfer the main attack by the river from vital point to an expendable one.

“The Town of Sundre was recently informed that council must support and commit to one of the options presented in the report, and the costs associated with that option, in order to have and conduct an effective meeting with governments,” acting CAO Wanda Watson-Neufeld told council.

Town director of operations Ron Baker told councillors that deciding on an option for the river work will strengthen the town’s position when it comes to finding funding for the work.

The town has been lobbying the federal and provincial governments for funding to undertake the flood prevention work. To date, no funding has been received.

Heavy erosion has been occurring along the west bank of the Red Deer River adjacent to the Riverside RV Village. That erosion threatens to damage town infrastructure and increase the risk of town-wide flooding, says Acting Mayor Annette Clews.

During last week’s council meeting, Clews told councillors that Sundre-area MLA Ty Lund has recommended that town officials meet with Alberta Environment and Alberta Infrastructure to express the town’s flooding concerns.

Clews said as a result she and town director of operations Ron Baker will be meeting with officials from those departments. A date for that meeting has not been set.

Meanwhile, Sundre town councillors and administration also plan to meet with officials from the Alberta Urban Municipalities Association (AUMA) and Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties (AAMDC) to discuss what the town says is a lack of government support for flood prevention work.

The AUMA and AAMDC represent Alberta municipal interests through lobbying and other means. Sundre is a member of the AUMA and Mountain View County is a member of AAMDC.

The Town of Sundre made a request for the meeting with the associations last month, with the associations replying last week that their officials would meet with Sundre councillors and representatives of Mountain View County.

“We want to discuss the river and the lack of support from the provincial government,” said Acting Mayor Annette Clews. “We are going to discuss the lack of accountability that the province has over the rivers.”

A date for the meeting has not been set, but will likely happen soon, she said.

The town has also requested a meeting with Wild Rose Conservative MP Blake Richards to discuss river concerns.

The town made official requests for the meeting with Richards on June 22 and on June 30. To date, no reply has been received.

“I’m hoping Blake will help us find solutions,” Clews said at the time. “It would be really nice if Alberta Environment and Alberta Infrastructure would step up to the plate and help as well. I’m quite disappointed that I’m constantly told that there is no money available for us.”