Medicine Hat city council heard about four regional flood mitigation projects Monday. (CHAT News)

By Eli J. Ridder | @EliRidder

Medicine Hat pushed to contribute to regional flooding mitigation projects

Dec 5, 2023 | 11:38 AM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – The City of Medicine Hat was asked Monday to start contributing financially to a series of regional flood mitigation projects.

Those projects are spread out along the St. Mary River Irrigation District that stretches between Medicine Hat and Lethbridge.

The Southern Regional Stormwater Drainage Committee, known as the SRSDC, was formed as a way to collaborate the drainage projects across partners and, as a group, request provincial and federal grant funding.

Seven proposed projects came forward through a regional stormwater management plan in 2014. Three are complete or in-progress.

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The SRSDC asked the city to get financially involved for the first time by supplying some cash for the other four projects.

“I’m here tonight to trying to get your support on the last four projects,” SRSDC co-chair Gary Franz said during a presentation to council.

Those projects include an expansion to the Murray Reservoir, a Paradise Creek Dry Dam, Sauder Spillway, Sherburne spillway and reservoir expansion and main canal drain inlet pumping stations.

A slide from the SRSDC presentation Monday. (SRSDC)

The four projects will cost $70 million, according to Franz.

While SRSDC hopes to cover 70 to 80 per cent of the costs through federal, provincial and third-party grants, the group of regional partners would need to provide the rest.

He said the other SRSDC partners — including Cypress County, County of 40 Mile, Lethbridge County and others — have contributed financially to the previous projects but that Medicine Hat needs to prepare to help out for the other four.

City council did not make any formal decisions Monday on supplying money for the projects.

The city would not need to supply funding for the project until provincial and federal grants are secured and there’s not yet a timeline in place.

Franz told CHAT News the SRSDC will give a presentation to its partners in January that will include an estimated cost breakdown.

He expects that Medicine Hat will make a final decision on contributing financially to the projects in 2024.

Coun. Allison Knodel asked during the meeting if the Medicine Hat flash flooding in 2010 would have been prevented if the upcoming projects were in place beforehand.

“You wouldn’t have had Seven Persons Creek flood, period,” Franz responded.

Coun. Allison Knodel said she saw how the projects could benefit Hatters and looked forward to learning more about what would be required from the city.

“I had the opportunity tonight to explore what the potential benefit of something like this is to our community,” she told CHAT News after the meeting.

“We still have more information to gather about what the financial ramifications for us are and the details of the project but I think overall it’s an important endeavor,” she added, also pointing to the advantage of regional partnerships.

While many groups come to city council asking for funding, Knodel said flood mitigation was an important topic to consider.

“I do see it as emergency prevention and I think that’s important overall,” she said.

Meanwhile, Alberta is preparing for another potential drought season.