Springbank dam model to test flood diversion impacts panned
While final approval of the Springbank dry dam has been held up by regulatory hurdles, a model has been quietly built, far from prying eyes.
It’s a 1/16-scale version of the project — complete with identical and functional sluices, spillways, crest gates and even the woody flotsam it’s expected to catch during flooding. Water has been forced through the model at velocities calculated to simulate a potentially disastrous flood.
The 50-metre by 30-metre model of the $432-million dam and reservoir was built by National Research Council of Canada employees in one of the agency’s cavernous Ottawa facilities.
Those behind the reproduction
— which cost $800,000 to build and use — say it was crucial in helping to understand how the dam would function during a high-water event that would let loose many tonnes of debris along the Elbow River.
But opponents of the full-sized project — meant to prevent a repeat of the 2013 flooding that submerged parts of Calgary — say building the model’s a pricey slap-in-the-face.
“They continue to spend so much money to push this project while it’s still held up,” said Karin Hunter, president of the Springbank Community Association.
She said the mere existence of the huge model doesn’t inspire confidence among residents who live near the proposed site 15 kilometres west of Calgary along Highways 8 and 22.
“It shows how unsure they are about how it would run, the uncertainty of it,” said Hunter.
Federal environmental regulators have repeatedly sought more information on the project, prompting the province to send them an 8,000-page document last spring. In an emailed statement, a spokeswoman with Alberta Transportation said the dam reproduction was commissioned by the previous NDP government in 2016 and was mandated by Ottawa.
“Detailed modellings on items such as water pressure and sediment deposit are required as part of the regulatory review process, and using a lab environment allows the best opportunity to create/re-create actual conditions,” wrote Brooklyn Elhard.