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HomeMy WebLinkAbout1984-11-01 Council MinutesINFORMATION MEETING CONCERNING THE POSSIBILITY OF A DAM ON THE KNEEHILL CREEK M D KNEEHILL 448 NOVEMBER 1st 1984 PRESENT. Kent Berg, Al McMillan and John White from Alberta Water Resources J Finlay Code, Otto Hoff, Robert E Boake, Richard A Maerz, Harold Mueller and Reginald G CHmpbell ,Councillors Approximately 60 people representing most areas along the Creek Mr Otto Hoff Reeve of the M D. called the meeting to order and advised the people this meeting was called to obtain imput from Water Resources and the people about the need for a dam on the Creek Kent Berg reviewed the back ground work done to date on this project and presented several slides He noted in 1980 Council approached Environment for help in determining some possible sites for dams on the creek The PFRA had done a similar study in 1962 and had idenitified three possible sites, one on the Three Hills Creek, one on the Ghost Pine and one on the Kneehill Creek In 1970 a further study was done on the Torrington site for the Kneehill Creek In 1982 an up -date report was prepared which included location of cultivated land railway lines and whether it would be a suitable site for building a dam Two suggestions were made - one being the Allingham site and one being the Torrington Site Two different dam levels were also reviewed In 1982 the matter was discussed with Council as it related to cost sharing for the project Council has now asked the Province to review the matter as a provincial project with the government paying all the costs involved In order to make any decision as to whether the government would look at such a provincial project, further studies must be undertaken Must review various methods of resolving the water shortage problem on the creek and make recommendations to the government as to how best to resolve the problem. This will require geo technical work, environmental studies and other studies before such a decision could be made Phase One of the Study will look at three areas - water resource concerns identification of areas and where the water is required and review all possible solutions to the water shortage problem. Must determine the amount of water available, water uses along the creek and the water quality, as well as environmental concerns A further public meeting would be held when concrete information and solutions have been arrived at Also a local advisory group committee would be formed Phase I study likely will not be completed until February of 1985 Mr McMillan advised the meeting his department is studying whether some assistance could be made available to people along the creek for construction of dugouts Questions were then directed to the Chair as follows Walter Landymore - I feel the flow is insufficient and wish to know if the department has looked into this matter Marg Vetter Dam would be right behind our barn - not in favour at all Also what would happen to the manure pits which are located on the Colony land which would be flooded also would the old M D dump which contains chemical cans etc, be cleaned up before the land was flooded Mr McMillan indicated a hazard study would have to be undertaken if and when a suitable location for a dam was determined Mr. Hoff noted people east of Carbon are experiencing a severe shortage of water Ben Bauer . How would such a dam be filled - there is not sufficient water to fill a dam It would also flood over roads in the area of the Village of Torrington and interrupt normal traffic flow patterns which might have a serious affect on the traffic which would normally go to the Village of Torrington - such as grain hauling Mr John White noted the roads would likely remain unaffected, except for the Allingham Road which would likely be flooded Mr R Maerz indicated the AllinghammARoad is scheduled for light coat surfacing P 2 in order to link up with a light coat surfaced road in the County of Mt View and provide a good road to SR 791 If the road was flooded the traffic would have to be detoured two miles south or two miles north This meeting is to get imput from the people to see if council should attempt to proceed with the project Many of the ratepayers in Division 4 are opposed to the project, due to the loss of good farm and pasture land, relocation of people and extra travelling distances Ben Bauer- There is only run off to fill such a dam = no river - only run off from the Kneehill Valley Mr Hoff indicated it would take several years to fill such a dam and more snow and rain that have had in the past There was a suggestion that two smaller dams would be more logical than one large dam Mr McMillan indicated their study would check to ensure there is enough water and would also look at the possibility of smaller dams, or perhaps another site or perhaps no dam at all Mr McMillan also indicated Water Resources is not advocating a dam they are only trying to determine how best to resolve the water flow problem Mr Hoff noted he had discussed this matter with several of his ratepayers - whether a dam was needed or would dugouts solve the water shortage problem Mr G A Berdahl - there is a great need for water at the lower end of the creek all along the creek there are cow calf operations and the land is only suitable for pasturing cattle and this cannot be done without water Also two hamlets depend on shallow water wells which are basically dependent on water from the creek Also the Village of Carbon and the City of Drumheller make use of water from the creek He felt it was time the government made a complete study of the entire water system in the province, and come up with a better method of control and distribution of the water for all people Finlay Code- noted the South Saskatchewan River Basin Study is underway and there is a possibility of water being passed on from Canada to the United States, and therefore there should be some way of preserving water on the creeks Del Haining - felt some secondary dams on the creek would be best rather than one large one Beavers have the best solutions There was discussion as to whether the Bigelow Dam on the Three Hills Creek had solved the water shortage for all people on the creek particularly at the east end of the creek east of Carbon Marg Vetter The idea of fl Vdc & tlnd which will support one cow calf unit to 6 acres in order to supplyAland which will only support one cow calf unit to 20 acres does not seem logical There was also discussion about the price which might be paid for the land and whether the M D could expropriate the land for the dam Kay Elliott- Asked whether the government would divert water from northern rivers south rather than spending money on dams Mr McMillan noted there had been no investigation as to whether water could be diverted to this creek and it is too far away from any river to be practical Also government will not allow funding for investigation of inter basin diversion Glen Keiver How serious is council about carrying on with this project Mr. Hoff- We asked the government to study the question Now we are asking you How serious are you about whether the project should proceed or not R A Maerz. People in Division 4 are asking people in Division 1 - how would you feel about having a dam on your property. Mr Berdahl How would you feel about having cattle on your property without water Page 3 Marg Vetter- You are taking our land for your benefit. R A Maerz I do not expect someone else to guarantee me something that was not guaranteed to me when I brought my land Mr Hoff Perhaps some small reservoirs would be better Walter Landymore• I wish to obtain the information about the flow projection on the creek How long will people down stream be cut off from any water in order to have the dam filled with water I would like an answer to that question if the study is proceeded with Dan Dole Soil in my area is very sandy and below the sand is gravel Further north is a gravel pit - entire valley is gravel and likely would not hold water It was noted alot of people have had to dig dugouts and drill more wells to water their cattle and perhaps the people down stream will have to do likewise Mr White noted a geo technical study would have to look at the problems of flow projection and soil type etc Dan Dole Should look at another area which would hold water It was noted that small dams all along the creek should be constructed rather than having one large dam Mr McMillan indicated that storage possibilities along the creek would be looked at He also noted a large structure would cost in the millions of dollars and other alternatives will have to be looked at, including wells and dugouts Herbert Heysa• We know what we have now, if the government puts in a dam they may shut off the flow and there would be nothing at all Mr McMillan indicated they would be looking at the operation of the Bigelow Dam and reporting back to council with information about how it is run He noted a dam is meant to catch water in the spring and let that water out more slowly over the entire year Ken Brost. If we do not have any rain or snow the dam will not fill up Someone asked if the people down stream could not drill wells or put in stock watering pumps He noted he has two pastures and drives 32 miles every day to pump water for his cattle If the roads were flooded he would have to drive 12 miles every day to water his cattle Also noted that some areas do not have creeks or dams and people must use windmills to pump water for their cattle from wells Mr. Andrews- Noted he lives on land near the spot where the Creek goes into the Red Deer River and in the spring there is alot of water which is lost and a month later the creek is nearly dry, and there is only mud in the creek/ Morris Charlton Perhaps they should put the dam further south on his land and leave our land alone water There was discussion about an underground /feasibility study in the area at the south end of the creek and it was noted people had drilled several wells in that area and could nat get water A person who lives at the south end of the creek indicated the proposal would take alot of good land out of production and that is not what they want However a downstream dam would be quite expensive Mr Appleyard noted the Village of Carbon has been told they cannot build in certain areas as it would be flooded out, but people here are saying they do not have water up- stream. Mr Berdahl. noted many people in his area have dugouts, but there has been no run off to fill them A person indicated perhaps a dam should be built near Carbon instead of in the Allingham- Torrington area, if they are short of water Mr Dronyk asked if Highway 27 would be affected and it was noted that Page 4 if the largest dam was put in it would affect Highway 27 Vern Brost Where will the money come from for the dam? Mr Hoff indicated originally was suggested 75% from the government and 25% from the M D but that would be too expensive for the M D. so asking the government to fund it entirely Mr McMillan noted the Phase I study is a water management undertaking and is attempting to resolve a water shortage problem for people However council will have to decide if they wish to proceed any further with this project and their department will wait until they hear from council before going any further Bob Vetter- Will the dam be stocked with fish and used for recreational purposes? Mr White likely not - structure of this size does not hold enough water to over winter fish and is not suitable for recreation either due to the decline in the water over the summer Mr Hoff thanked everyone for coming and advised them if there was further information made available to council this information would be passed on to the people in the form of another meeting The meeting then adjourned at 2 57 P M — Rey rding Secretary