The provincial government has released $1 million in funding for a stormwater pond project after placing it on hold earlier this year following the provincial election, but officials are still waiting for confirmation of $1.3 million in federal funds.
Alberta Environment and Parks minister Jason Nixon announced Nov. 8 that the Town of Westlock will finally receive the Alberta Community Resilience Program grant to build a naturalized stormwater pond north of town to accommodate a one-in-100-year storm, a project is estimated to cost $3.3 million.
“I have a physical copy of an agreement for me to sign,” confirmed interim CAO Simone Wiley last Friday, Nov. 15
The grant was initially announced March 12 by the then-NDP government, but Wiley was told the new United Conservative government had placed all grant programs under review ahead of the provincial budget.
“The Town of Westlock is extremely pleased that this project will proceed. I have personally spent significant time with our MLA, Glenn van Dijken, as well as the ministers of Environment and Parks and Municipal Affairs on this matter. We’ve worked hard to complete our stormwater and sanitary master plans and always have had confidence that the province would recognize the importance of this project to our community,” commented mayor Ralph Leriger.
Another $1.3 million in federal funding through the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program (ICIP) is still pending. The ICIP grant is managed provincially by Alberta Infrastructure, and the town was mandated to apply for it as well.
“The last communication I received from (ICIP) was that they would be letting applicants who had submitted expressions of interest before Christmas time whether they would be asked to submit a full application,” which would mean that the project is going forward and Alberta Infrastructure needs all the information, said Wiley.
Town council directed attention to stormwater management and infrastructure after the 2016 flood, which exposed issues with drainage. Unprecedented rain this summer also strengthened the urgency of proper stormwater infrastructure.
MPE Engineering, the firm contracted to create a stormwater master plan, identified effective drainage and a pond that would accommodate a one-in-100-year flood as top priority when they presented their findings to town council in January 2018.
The pond, also designed by MPE, involves a series of three pools within an 80-acre town-owned lot north of its boundaries, which will incorporate the existing wetland.
Elevation between the three ponds will help water move between them while the sediment gets caught up in the natural grasses and vegetation before spilling into the Wabash Creek.
