Sundre town council is pushing higher levels of government to help protect their homes and businesses from flooding.
Annual flooding poses a constant threat to areas of town that are adjacent to Bearberry Creek and the Red Deer River. Portions of the area were swamped after a heavy rainfall and rapid melting of the mountain snow pack in July 2005.
The river is high now and there is no way of knowing when another severe flood will strike, says Myron Thompson, spokesperson for Save Our Sundre. The Sundre Chamber of Commerce struck the committee early last year to study the problem and come up with some solutions.
Its members have been pushing to have the river moved back to the channel it occupied before the 2005 flood and to have the river bank armoured to prevent further erosion.
The committee has now done everything it can. It’s up to the Town of Sundre to pick up the ball, which appears to be stalled in their court, Thompson said this week.
Deputy Mayor Annette Clews said all the studies have been completed and forwarded to the federal and provincial governments for their responses.
“We are waiting for feedback to ensure that we have all the correct reports and everything before we submit a plan,” said Clews. Town council has no way of knowing when either government will respond to the information, she said.
“We were actually talking about it last night. We are going to do some investigation to find out where it’s at.”
Town council will visit the issue again during its June governance meeting, set for June 14.
bkossowan@www.reddeeradvocate.com