Alternate storm water plan would cost Blackfalds nearly $13 million: report

A potential “Plan B” for solving the Town of Blackfalds’ storm water drainage needs comes with a hefty price tag.

Under the proposed Northwest Area Master Storm Water Management Plan, storm water would be sent north from Blackfalds through a series of wetlands, drainage courses and underground pipes to Lacombe Lake and eventually into the Battle River drainage system.

The plan has been met with heavy opposition from local residents, including a petition has collected nearly 1000 signatures. They are concerned over the effect of the proposed plan on the overall water quality of the lake.

In order to move ahead with the plan, the Town of Blackfalds needs to purchase some privately-owned land near Township Road 40-0 so they can construct a wetland. Last month, county council deferred signing off on the purchase request until the Town looked into other options, including sending storm water south to the Blindman River, an entirely different watershed, leaving Lacombe Lake unaffected.

The Town did so, having Stantec Engineering conduct a review which was presented to Blackfalds town council Tuesday night.

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That review determined sending storm water south to the Blindman River would come with a capital cost of $12.8 million, making it unviable in the eyes of Town Administration.

In comparison, the price tag for the Town’s preferred Lacombe Lake option sits at $2 million.

A big reason for the difference in costs is that sending storm water south to the Blindman River would require the installation of a pumping station, whereas the Lacombe Lake option would be gravity-fed.

Town of Blackfalds officials now hope to present the new information to Lacombe County Council at their meeting on Aug. 24.

The Town of Blackfalds is currently awaiting a decision from Alberta Environment and Parks regarding the Northwest Area Master Storm Water Management Plan.