Erosion has long been an issue for homeowners along the Bow River in Lac Des Arcs and the last time they tried to get provincial help to address the problem, in 2005, they were turned down.
MD of Bighorn Reeve Dene Cooper said municipal officials have been well aware of erosion along the bank for a long time and were hoping in 2005 to apply for a provincial funding program for help.
“In our application to have something pursued the answer we received from government was that the budget line was unfunded,” Cooper said. “The fact is that we could have done something meaningful in ’05 and achieved value for the investment and we failed to do that.
“We are at the point that if we don’t armour that creek the properties are in serious jeopardy – there is no doubt about the urgency of this one at all.”
June flood waters took approximately 40 to 50 feet of the bank away and now eight homes are in jeopardy. Like in 2005, homeowners are again looking to the province, which has jurisdiction of erosion control on the river, to fix the problem.
Kevin Warkentine’s property saw the bank erode up to his home as well as Heart Creek waters cutting a path through his lot. But erosion is not covered by the provincial government’s disaster recovery program, leaving Warkentine with many questions about the future of his property.
At a flood information meeting held by the province last week, he asked government officials if they intend to establish a program to address homes affected by erosion like those in Lac Des Arcs.
“I’m just as impacted with the bank compromised and I cannot enter my home as if it was flooded out or condemned for health reasons,” Warkentine said. “If I have to vacate my property on a permanent basis, I am just as impacted as if the river came through my house.”
Alberta Emergency Management Association director of field operations Jim Cornish said the province might have to look at some properties on a case-by-case basis.
“What I can tell you right now is that erosion is not covered under the disaster recovery program,” Cornish said. “We can develop guidelines and develop policies, but there is not a one-size-fits-all solution.
“There are a number of cases where we will have to look at a property on a case-by-case basis.”
Warkentine said as a result of inaction in 2005, Crown land encroached upon his property and caused damage. He said that puts the government in a position where it is liable to address what has happened – and he thinks they will.
“I truly believe they will come up with a formula to help us,” he said.
Cooper said MLA Ron Casey and associate minister of recovery Kyle Fawcett have been to Lac Des Arcs and are very aware of the unique situation and lack of funding and programs to address it.
“It is a very obvious question with no immediate program to provide a solution and it needs one,” Cooper said.
Lac Des Arcs community association president Graham Lock argued what happened to the bank was the direct result of flooding, not erosion.
Directly opposite Lac Des Arcs is Exshaw Creek and during June when that creek saw increased flows it took natural debris along with material Lafarge used to build its bank and material being used by CP Rail to mitigate what was happening to its infrastructure and deposited it the middle of the river.
Lock said that material is now a delta taking up approximately a third of the river and pushing the course of the Bow toward the hamlet.
“In that 24-hour period we lost 50 ft. of Lac Des Arcs,” he said. “We lost a ton because of the flooding of Exshaw Creek and not the erosion of our bank — it was the flooding that was the cause and I want to draw that distinction.
“So I think we have a unique circumstance in Lac Des Arcs that does need to be considered.”
Locke warned that if nothing is done before next year’s flood season, another 50 ft. of erosion would take the river bank and will affect municipal infrastructure.
