Rising Cochrane Lake threatens homes

Officials consider pumping water into Bow River

With water lapping at the doors of some local residents’ homes, Rocky View County is making an urgent bid to pump water out of the swollen Cochrane Lake into the Bow River.

Water levels at the artificial lake west of Calgary have been rising for years, but the situation has worsened this summer.

Jill Breeck and John Boutet moved to their dream home in the area 12 years ago, when the body of water was just a slough in the distance.

Now, their lawn is underwater, with the water creeping up to their house.

“It’s just been a constant worry for years. Particularly now, because it’s the highest it’s ever been,” said Breeck, 79.

“It’s very difficult to leave the property for any length of time. We’re afraid to the leave the house.”

In the last few weeks, water has been pumped out of the lake to nearby Horse Creek, said Margaret Bahcheli, reeve of Rocky View County.

On Wednesday, she received word from Alberta Environment that another pumping route had been approved at a nearby creek.

So far, the pumping has allowed the county to maintain the water levels, not bring them down.

Bahcheli said as much as 1.2 million cubic metres of water needs to be moved out of Cochrane Lake to bring it down to a safe level, but that process involves a complicated overland route into the Bow River.

Alberta Environment spokesman Jamie Hanlon said the province has been working on a Bow River route for several weeks, including obtaining necessary approvals from landowners.

The latest hurdle involves dealing with train tracks in the path of the water diversion route, he said.

“There are some engineering issues that need to be looked at,” he said.

“We are working to resolve that challenge.”

Breeck said she and her husband hope a better solution is found soon. “There is no outlet for the water whatsoever. It just seems to be getting bigger and bigger and bigger,” said Breeck.

“We’re certainly hoping pumping into the Bow (River) would be much more efficient and pump more water than can be pumped into Horse Creek.”

The county is also working to put in place a local “improvement tax” to put toward the costs of implementing a permanent solution, said Bahcheli.