A flooded road in Sexsmith in April of this year. Photo by Shane Clausing..

By Shane Clausing

County of Grande Prairie

Public Works provides County of Grande Prairie Council with update regarding flood mitigation efforts

Sep 20, 2020 | 5:00 AM

The County of Grande Prairie’s Public Works department gave an update to County Council this past week regarding the ongoing efforts to help mitigate overland flooding in the region.

According to the County, work on mitigation efforts was pushed to the forefront after major overland flooding occurred in the spring. This led to extensive damage to County roads and infrastructure.

Director of Public Works Dale Van Volkingburgh spoke about the ongoing process of mitigation efforts.

“Basically, we had a top 10 priority list that was approved by Council to try and achieve some mitigation, so it was an update to those projects. Through our investigation in the key areas, we have done what we can to address surface water management issues, including repairing and replacing culverts and repairing ditches.”

Van Volkingburgh adds that the next thing on their schedule is completing survey work regarding areas and private land that has or could be impacted by flooding in the past.

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“There are challenges with every project, but for the most part, it’s really just getting enough survey information, so if you are actually going to do any mitigation work like drainage, ditches or what have you, that you have the proper information in the right direction to move forward with it.”

“We’re very close to having what we need compiled and then the next step would be to meet with the landowners affected to discuss with them what the strategy would be from that survey.”

While surveys are almost completed, some landowners are hesitant about having their property touched. Van Volkingburgh adds that a landowner doing specific repairs to the property on their land could have an impact on others in the region.

“We understand and appreciate the need for individual landowners to take preventative measures to stop flooding on their own property, but these actions can cause problems for others, including damage to County infrastructure and surrounding private property. Rather than trying to address drainage issues on their own, we encourage landowners to first consult with the County and adjacent property owners to determine the cause and come up with potential solutions.”

The funds for the mitigation repairs are already in place. The final cost for the 10 priority projects that are listed is $1.015 million.

So far, the County has spent $2 million on road repairs and $515,000 on their Ditch Cleaning Program.

In a statement, the County also says that it has applied for financial assistance through the Government of Alberta’s Disaster Recovery Program to help cover the cost of the flood mitigation repairs. However, they say that the opportunity to access these funds in the future is limited, and delays could leave the County responsible for covering the costs of future repairs and upgrades.