Medicine Hat to join regional flood pact

Southern Alberta Newspapers Supplied Image. FLOOD IMPACT: Project proposed by the Regional Stormwater Drainage Committee, a group of municipalities along the St. Mary River Irrigation District canal system. Green projects are underway, red denote future water management projects. Medicine Hat is located in the top right of the map.

By Collin Gallant
Southern Alberta Newspapers

Finally joining a 10-year-old effort to protect against overland flooding in far southern Alberta could cost the City of Medicine Hat $4.4 million over 20 years, but non-financial details of the partnership are still to be worked out, a city committee heard.

Last year officials from the Regional Stormwater Drainage Committee approached city council asking to formalize a governance structure for a group of municipalities along the St. Mary River Irrigation District.

It formed in 2012 in response to heavy flooding in the MD of Taber and identified seven projects across south-central and southeast Alberta to help better control excessive rainfall along the canal system that ends near Medicine Hat.

But since only two directly relate to the Seven Persons Creek, which flows through the Medicine Hat, local council declined any funding support in favour of the city’s own river-facing flood projects.

On Nov. 21, city infrastructure officials said that continuing talks are close to finalizing both a formal structure for the group and a contribution model.

“It’s a fundamental shift from what council’s direction has been for the last few years,” acting managing director Stan Nowakowski told the development and infrastructure committee.

“There has always been support in principle, but this involves (financial) buy in.”

Medicine Hat’s elected officials and technical staff have been active in the group over the years, but haven’t put resources toward work which to this point has been carried out by the irrigation district and at the Horsefly Spillway, managed by the M.D. of Taber.

“We get reminded all the time, and fair enough,” said Coun. Shila Sharps after the item was forwarded to council for approval on Dec. 2, potentially with a presentation from regional committee heads.

The drainage committee’s basic philosophy is to attribute specific project costs to all municipalities pro-rated to share of expected benefit, meaning those counties and towns most directly affected pay a greater share more.

But it has operated on an ad hoc basis, which would change in the new year, pending council approval of a final board structure and operating agreement to schedule, plan, earn approvals and grants and then procure construction.

Project lead for the city, engineer Carlie Collier, said conditions on Medicine Hat’s entrance would be that projects would only move ahead once 70 per cent funding from other levels of government was reached.

That would leave about $20 million in costs to be shouldered by members attributed on perceived benefit of the remaining projects.

Medicine Hat’s contribution would be about $3.9 million for future work, while the city would also need to retroactively provide $400,000 for its share of the Horsefly Spillway, near Taber.

The spillway would links to an emergency outfall running to the Oldman River. It is already being built in phases with contributions from other partners and the provincial and federal governments.

Two late stage projects would expand the Murray Lake Reservoir and construct a dry dam at Paradise Creek. Both areas contributed to creek flooding in Medicine Hat in 2010 and 2012.

In the latter year, waters overwhelmed the irrigation canal causing widespread overland flooding at Taber, which led to the formation of the group.

A river flood the next year in Medicine Hat focused flood prevention efforts on raising berms inside city limits, though the creeks would still be covered off with temporary measures, such as removable flood walls and sandbags.

“To date, we’ve obtained about $40 million in federal and provincial grants for flood mitigation,” said Collier, noting the city typically has several days to prepare for high water on the South Saskatchewan River but much less time for creek events.

Some money could come from carry over surplus left over from the city’s internal flood protection program that is largely complete.

With $2.5 million in surplus funds remaining, about $700,000 in work is still required, and the left-over would be placed in a dedicated reserve account to fund future contributions to the regional effort.

Currently, the group is exploring the creation of either a municipally-controlled corporation or potentially a co-operative to manage activity.

“I’m sure it will eventually get worked out,” said city councillor and drainage committee representative Alison Van Dyke.