Springbank dry reservoir 'the right decision,' says Jim Prentice

A proposed flood-diversion project in Springbankto divert and hold floodwater from the Elbow River is the right decision to protect Calgary, according to Premier Jim Prentice.

"I think the analysis that has been done underscores the accuracy and the wisdom of the decisions that were announced last fall, which is that the most cost-effective, most environmentally-responsible way to get flood protection for Calgary in terms of the Elbow River is the dry reservoir in Springbank," Prentice told reporters at a Rotary Club of Calgary luncheon on Tuesday.

"We stand by that decision and I think the engineering analysis thats been done since shows that it was the right decision."

Divided community

But the projectis dividing the community according to a member of the local planning association.

Nearly 100 people turned out for a meeting Monday night to discuss plans for anoff-stream reservoir that will help prevent a repeat of the disastrous flood that rolled through southern Alberta in 2013.

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Gloria Wilkinson, who speaks for the Springbank Community Planning Association, says the province is ignoring the wishes of the people who would be most affected by the project.

"They've met in Calgary. They've met in Cochrane. They haven't met in Springbank, she said.

Wilkinson says she worries about the loss of productive farmland as well as the psychological impact the diversion project is having on residents.

"This community is mentally divided because it has caused such a huge rift," she said.

The reservoir would be located about 15 kilometres west of Calgary, south of Highway 1, east of Highway 22 and north of Highway 8.

Canal would divert Elbow River floodwater

A canal would carry water from the Elbow River to the reservoir during flood conditions and release it back to the river in a controlled manner when the flood subsides.

Construction is scheduled to begin next year and be completed in 2018 at a cost of more than $250 million.

Stantec Consulting has been hired for its design, engineeringand environmental impact assessment.

Springbank resident Jack Sampson says hes concerned the project has become the province's first option without proper consultation and without conclusive engineering studies to back up that decision.

He says he suspects the decision making is rooted in politics.

"It's quick and easy. Prentice needed an answer when he came into power. Somebody has told him this is the answer, he said.

The province says engineering studies are still underway and no final decisions have been made.

A dry dam farther west at the confluence of McLean Creek and the Elbow River is still under consideration.

But Matthew Machielse, an assistant deputy minister at Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, says the Springbank plan is currently the front-runner.

"The current cost benefit of this one appears to be better, the environmental impact seems to be better, he said.