Irrigation district board approves $273M reservoir expansion plan
A $273-million expansion of a southern Alberta reservoir has been given the green light by the board of the irrigation district taking on the project, though it will still be a couple of years before work begins.
The Eastern Irrigation District's board of directors unanimously approved last week an expansion to the Snake Lake Reservoir near Brooks, with approval still needed from Alberta Environment and Protected Areas.
“There's still quite a few hoops that we need to jump through,” said Ryan Gagley, the Eastern Irrigation District's assistant general manager of engineering and operations.
The proposal would expand the existing off-stream reservoir by 780 hectares to a total area of 1,100 hectares, and water capacity would increase by 68 million cubic metres to 86 million cubic metres.
All users in the district, which serves about 121,400 hectares, would benefit from the increased reservoir capacity, said Gagley. About 20,000 hectares downstream would directly benefit, and the rest would indirectly benefit “because the reservoir would be able to support them and then we could push the river to other areas,” he added.
“If we're able to supply individuals from a reservoir, then that frees water for other areas of the district,” said Gagley.
Gagley, who has worked for the district for more than 19 years, said that until last year when drought conditions hit southern Alberta, stored water wasn't critical.
“Last year, it sure was,” he said. “Depends on the year.”
Gagley said the district is to receive about $65 million from the province for the project, which would be built on land the district owns on the east side of the existing reservoir. The irrigation district will use existing funds to cover 20 per cent of the project cost and finance the rest — at one per cent interest — over roughly 30 years.
The district aims to start the project in 2026 and will take on most of the construction itself. The district, which moves plenty of dirt around each year, plans to slow its other capital projects to focus on the multi-year expansion project, said Gagley.
“We're going to do it internally with a whole bunch of extra subcontractors bringing in steel and helping us with the build,” he said, adding there will be a tender for the concrete structure.
The irrigation district has campgrounds on two of its other reservoirs, so there has been talk about adding another campground once construction on the expansion has been completed.
“We're busy trying to get the darn thing built,” said Gagley. “The campground is something up in the air right now.”