At the Town of Drumheller Committee Of The Whole meeting on Monday, February 13, an update was provided to Town Council with the Flood Mitigation Project.

Deighen Blakely shared that the Flood Mitigation office has been looking at changes on the western edge of the flood berm in Midland.  Instead of the creation of a new berm along 25 Street NW, they may be able to use the existing CN Rail bed for flood mitigation.  The Flood Office has determined there would be a significant cost savings to proceed with this option, with minimal increase in risk, so are moving forward with this change.

Initially, they were going to build 200 metres of new berm along 25th Street due to the uncertainty of the materials in the current rail bed, which was built over 100 years ago. Parkland Geo completed an in-depth analysis of the rail bed, including potential failure or seepage. Parkland Geo concluded that they would be able to use the rail bed as the upstream leg of the Midland Berm, with modifications including replacing the ballast and removing the vegetation on the top and sides of the rail bed.

During the discussion, Councillor Tom Zariski inquired to see if CN has been contacted as the Town is currently only leasing the former right of way. Blakely shared that they would be speaking with CN about the change. Councillor Pat Kolafa also noted that residents in the area suggested the town look at using the former rail bed and was pleased that it looks like it may be feasible.  If the rail bed is used, the project could see savings in the order of $350,000.

DrumhellerOnline.com is Drumheller's only source for community news and information such as weather and classifieds.

When the Town of Drumheller wants local news, weather, and sports online and on-demand, they turn to Drumheller Online.