Spring of 2018 flooding in the County of Grande Prairie.

By Curtis Galbraith

County of Grande Prairie

Some flood mitigation work finished in the County of Grande Prairie

Oct 23, 2020 | 6:30 AM

The County of Grande Prairie says some of its flood mitigation work has been complete.

Those projects included ditch cleaning and installing culverts along Range Roads 111A and 114; culvert installation and water redirection along Range Road 113; one new culvert and one upgraded one along Township Road 705 between Range Roads 112 and 113; cleaning ditches and installing a pipe at a spot on Township Road 732; and two new culverts at the entrance to Crystal Creek Acres.

Public Works Director Dale Van Volkingburgh says the reaction from ratepayers where the work was done has been positive.

“They appreciate the effort in trying to assist in the future flooding, for sure.”

The work is continuing on several other sites. That includes planning a way to redirect water in Clairmont; cleaning, upgrading, and putting in new culverts in Willow Wood/Maple Ridge area and addressing surface water issues in the Maple Ridge area, pending landowner approval; finding a location for a water outlet in Sunnybrook, and building a drainage in the Meadow Brook and Autumn Wood areas. This also needs landowner approval. Installing culverts along Township Road 710 between Range Roads 85 and 92 is almost finished. The province still has to give permission for some work along Township Road 742, which will start once the creek freezes.

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Van Volkingburgh is hoping to have 90 per cent of the work that isn’t finished yet completed this year.

“There are a couple that have been delayed and it is more landowner or utility issues, but that delay still doesn’t mean that we can’t do some work this fall. Some of the other ones we’re still working on at least getting the ditch functioning even if it isn’t fully completed, right? So, we’re still working at them.”

Some ongoing work also includes dealing with beavers and muskrats.

Volkingburgh says both animals have been plugging culverts.

“We’re at the point where our pest control people have to go and trap the beaver and blow the dam. We’re trying to do some support on that, whether we can mechanically remove the dams with equipment or we have to have them dynamite the blockages.”

County Council approved using $1.015 million to address surface water issues back in August. There was also $515,000 set aside for the Ditch Cleaning Program and another $2 million for road repairs.