MD of Pincher Creek council will apply for a $1,825,000 grant from Alberta’s Drought and Flood Protection Program to apply retroactive funding toward the Oldman Reservoir low-level intake project. 

On Jan. 23, council approved $1.7 million in capital spending for the intake project. A pending application was also made to Alberta Municipal Water/Wastewater Partnership to help cover costs.

This potential additional funding from both applications could help to cover both the underway intake project and an assessment project. 

“I think there’s reason to be optimistic that we should at least receive the funding for the intake project,” said David Desabrais in his recommendation to council at the May 28 meeting.

The grant would allow council to investigate drought and water conditions further before making further major investments, including a potential raw water storage project. 

According to reports from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the University of Calgary, Alberta is at risk of seeing significant drought conditions this summer, so preparing for drought conditions may become increasingly necessary for the region. 

The new application to Alberta’s Drought and Flood protection plan could cover up to 70 per cent of the costs if approved, and could be stacked with AMWWP funding.

According to Desabrais’s presentation, funding for drought assessment could include an assessment of the revised ability to meet 25-year requirements and susceptibility to severe multi-year drought. It could also include investigatory work, storage options and cost estimates. 

With provincial drought funding, the MD would also be encouraged to notify any potentially affected parties of their application for a specified project.

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