By Brittney Matejka

Southern Alberta will be eligible for flood disaster funding through municipalities.

May 7, 2018 | 5:14 PM

COUNTY OF FORTY MILE, AB. – The County of Forty Mile declared a state of emergency two weeks ago and they are now assessing the damage.

The County is currently working on applying for the Alberta Government’s Disaster Recovery Program to help with expenses incurred from the overland flooding.

Reeve Steven Wikkerink said they will be filling out an application for funding by the end of the week. They have a few areas of specific concern, they are going to be requesting funding for. 

“We’ve had to do a bunch of extra pumping out of our hamlet of Burdett to keep water away from our lift station,” he said. “We still have a bunch more pumping at Yellow Lake.”

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Winkkerink said during the course of the flooding, 87 roads were closed due to rising water. Some sustained large amounts of damage that needs to be repaired.

“The water actually moved across the road,” he said. “Those have taken a lot of damage, wore down into the base of the road. It takes not only time to truck all that gravel in but there are times when we have to haul dirt in first.”

Wikkerink said they have an upcoming county council meeting on Wednesday to discuss the damages and gain more insight into the total funding request being made to the Disaster Recovery Program. He estimates the damage in the County of Forty Mile surpasses the previous rough assessment of $1.5 million.

The Minister of Alberta Municipal Affairs, Shaye Anderson said there will be money available to municipalities affected by the flooding in southern Alberta but he isn’t sure how much will be given out just yet.

“We have a base of $200 million and then we evaluate each one as it goes,” he said. “In terms of the Disaster Recovery Program, we do wait until after the assessment is done so we have that exact number to really help out where it is needed.”

The Town of Drumheller and St. Mary River Irrigation District have already submitted applications requesting funding for flood damages from the Disaster Recovery Program.