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Lacombe backs Blackfalds stormwater plan

Stormwater management plan will open up more land for development in Blackfalds
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Photo contributed

The City of Lacombe will support a major Blackfalds stormwater project that has drawn the ire of some area residents.

The city said this week the potential impact of the Northwest Area Master Stormwater Plan has been addressed.

“The Town of Blackfalds has considered the long-term environmental impact of their master stormwater management plan on the Whelp Brook water basin through Lacombe, and has developed a comprehensive plan that satisfies us and is consistent with the city’s goals for the sustainability of its physical assets,” said Lacombe Mayor Grant Creasey in a statement.

Lacombe and nearly 20 other interested parties had filed statements of concern about the project with Alberta Environment.

The city wanted reassurances that contaminated water would not enter local waterways. There was also concern that flood mapping had not been completed and the potential impact of a flood had not been looked at closely enough.

Some letters came from residents around Lacombe Lake, many of whom are members of the Lacombe Lake Watershed Stewardship Society.

They are concerned the plan to include Lacombe Lake as part of the stormwater system carries the risk of introducing contaminants into the small lake and will raise water levels.

Blackfalds Mayor Richard Poole said care has been taken in planning the project to ensure those kinds of fears are not realized.

Poole said by the time stormwater leaves the first set of pipelines in the system, it meets the necessary Alberta Environment standards. It is then filtered through three settlement ponds to further clean it before it would reach Lacombe Lake.

A backup measure has been built into the system to divert water away from the lake if necessary.

“One of the options that we do have is that if we have an extremely high water level, or any indication that there is external contamination within our system, there will be a duct underneath the road to another property, and that can be shut off.

“There is a fail-safe.”

The diversion site is in Lacombe County and its approval will be required. The county has yet to endorse the stormwater plan because it wants Alberta Environment’s approvals in place before taking it to council.

How soon the province’s seal of approval will come remains unknown. When the stormwater plan was submitted to Alberta Environment in June, the town was told to expect a three- to five-month wait.



pcowley@reddeeradvocate.com

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