Resident frustrated by ?lack of communication? over water project

By: Sara Wilson
Posted: Monday, Apr 28, 2014 11:58 am

With phase two beginning on the Bragg Creek Potable Water and Wastewater system, the dust, closed roads and ?lack of communication? have pushed one resident to his limits.

Brian Shimmons claims his concerns have gone unanswered and he?s frustrated with the conditions the roads are in, in his area.

?My biggest issue with this whole project is the lack of information from Rocky View,? he said.

?My councillor does not respond to my emails. I believe we pay them to be of service to us. Apparently they don?t share the same belief.?

Rocky View County (RVC) sent out an official update on the project to residents on April 10, but Shimmons feels that it?s too little too late.

?The residents I?ve talked to have never seen anything ?official? from Rocky View on this project,? he said.

?The update is ?a little too late,? in my opinion, since construction has been on in my part of Bragg Creek for over a month.?

RVC began the project in 2012, when public information sessions were held and a local improvement tax was discussed to build a Wastewater Treatment Plant in the area.

The County implemented the Bragg Creek Water Local Improvement tax in July 2013, in the amount of $30 per month to cover the cost of bringing the infrastructure from the Wastewater Treatment Plant to residents? homes.

The current phase is to complete the Water Treatment Plant, which according to the County?s project update, is tentatively scheduled to begin Sept. 15, 2014.

?The Bragg Creek Water and Wastewater system is a major undertaking, and each hamlet resident received (mailed) a letter informing them about the construction, as well as regular ongoing updates,? said Grant Kaiser, manager of communications with RVC.

?Crews have worked every day except Easter Sunday to complete it as quickly as possible, and we are ahead of schedule. Most residents believe the inconvenience is worth the incredible benefits the project brings to the hamlet, but we are nonetheless trying to minimize the inconvenience as much as possible.?

According to the County update, the following areas will experience ?major road disruptions:?

Balsam Avenue saw the construction of the water and sanitary pipeline start on April 22. The road will be closed on the west end at the intersection with River Drive North.

Repaving is tentatively scheduled for early to mid May 2014.

White Avenue (Highway 758) will also undergo construction of the water and wastewater pipelines and is tentatively scheduled to commence work on May 20. White Avenue will not be closed during construction but will be reduced to one lane. One lane closures are expected to last three weeks. Repaving will begin once construction is finished.

?Rocky View County did bring in gravel/sand and graders (or caused the contractor) to make the roads more passable but some roads are still a mess and people actually live on them,? Shimmons said in an email to Rocky View Weekly.

?Many residents are very frustrated with the limited response to the situation. At an information session (at the beginning of April) where many residents became quite vocal about conditions in the hamlet resulting from the flood and others resulting from the mess the water/sewer construction has created.?

?I do understand how people are frustrated. It has been a long, tough haul with the damage from the June floods, not yet cleaned up, together with an expedited schedule for construction of the water and wastewater lines as a result of the timelines for the $10 million in Provincial grant money to help Bragg Creek recover from the flood,? said Area Councillor Liz Breakey.

Breakey explained the scope of the project includes a health and safety component as the groundwater in Bragg Creek is contaminated.

?The reality is that servicing is being installed for the Hamlet of Bragg Creek residents for health and safety reasons – the groundwater has been contaminated over the last few decades with faecal colliforms from shallow septic fields as was evidenced in the effluent from the floodwaters. The various levels of government, federal, provincial and municipal, have spent the last 15 years putting together the $30 million in grant money to address this problem for around 130 homes and 30 odd businesses.?

The project has been expedited so that the construction areas will be regraded and reseeded as immediately as possible, as seen in the streets that were serviced last fall,? Breakey said.

?Roads will be gravelled as soon as there are a few days without moisture so things can dry out a bit and then repaved and chip sealed following installation of the pipelines – which should be early summer. The combination of heavy snow cover, a late spring, a major flood episode and construction throughout the Hamlet has been difficult for people. But the Administration and contractors have done their best to minimize disruption and repair the damage as they go. Pipelines were repaired and installed throughout the 68 home Elkana Water Co-op last winter and the project seemed to proceed without complaint.?

RVC, received grants from the Government of Alberta and Government of Canada, to build a water and wastewater system for Bragg Creek.

The Province announced back in September 2013 that $5.8 million will go to the County for Phase 2 of the project and $4 million to assist residents with in-lot servicing and decommissioning private water wells and septic systems.

The contribution from the Alberta ensures long-term security water and wastewater services for the residents of the Hamlet of Bragg Creek to move away from wells and septic fields will also help protect the aquatic environment of the Elbow River.

http://www.rockyviewweekly.com/article/20140428/RVW0801/304289992/resident-frustrated-by-lack-of-communication-over-water-project