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Last updateTue, 29 Oct 2024 3pm

North Drumheller river crossing project underway

North Drumheller River Crossing

Major construction projects in the Drumheller Valley including replacement of critical underground infrastructure servicing the northern neighbourhoods of Drumheller and the surrounding area.
The North Drumheller River Crossing project, awarded to Wilco Contractors earlier this year, significantly upgrades the sanitary and water lines that go under the bed of the Red Deer River and realigns the force main connection to improve sanitary flow. This Capital Project, with a budget of $4.22M, is part of the Town of Drumheller’s asset management plan.
Contractors are replacing 165 metres of sanitary force main and water line installed in the 1970s, which are approaching the end of the expected service life. Rather than an ‘open cut’ operation, where a trench would be exposed to replace the pipe, this project is installed through horizontal drilling, crossing the Red Deer River approximately 15 meters below the riverbed.
The drill entry location is 4 Street West and is pulled through the system adjacent to the North Drumheller lift station, where a force main connection will be simultaneously repaired.
A force main is part of a municipal underground water/wastewater system. It provides the necessary power to move wastewater through sewer lines where working with gravity may not be possible. Improvements to this project also include new pump installation work at the North Drumheller Lift station to help support the force main construction. The new force main will also divert sewage that currently goes through the downtown pipes, alleviating the potential for sewer backups to those properties.
This project is expected to be completed in the fall.


Firefighters battle vehicle fire

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The Drumheller Fire Department quickly extinguished a truck and RV fire on a property on Newcastle Trail near the Midland Bridge.
Firefighters were called out shortly before 1 p.m. on Thursday, August 1. Upon arrival, an RV and a pickup truck were engulfed, and the fire was spreading in the heavily vegetated area.
The fire was quickly brought under control. There do not appear to be any injuries.

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Blue-green algae advisory issued for Little Fish Lake

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Cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) has been identified in the waters of Little Fish Lake, east of Drumheller. Residents living near the shores of this lake, as well as visitors to this lake, are advised to take the following precautions:

Avoid all contact with cyanobacterial blooms. If contact occurs, wash with tap water as soon as possible.
Do not swim or wade or allow your pets to swim or wade in any areas where cyanobacteria is visible.
Do not feed whole fish or fish trimmings from this lake to your pets.
Consider limiting human consumption of whole fish and fish trimmings from this lake, as it is known that fish may store toxins in their liver. (People can safely consume fish fillets from this lake).

As always, visitors and residents are reminded to never drink or cook with untreated water directly from any recreational body of water, including Little Fish Lake, at any time. Boiling of this water will not remove the toxins produced by cyanobacteria. An alternate source of drinking water should also be provided for pets and livestock, while this advisory is active.

Cyanobacteria is naturally occurring, and often becomes visible when weather conditions are calm. Appearing like scum, grass clippings, fuzz, or globs on the surface of water, cyanobacteria can be blue-green, greenish-brown, brown, and/or pinkish-red, and often smell musty or grassy.

People who come in contact with visible cyanobacteria or who ingest water containing cyanobacteria may experience skin irritation, rash, sore throat, sore red eyes, swollen lips, fever, nausea and vomiting and/or diarrhea. Symptoms usually appear within one to three hours and resolve in one to two days. Symptoms in children are often more pronounced; however, all humans are at risk of these symptoms. Exposure to the bacteria may be fatal to pets.

Weather and wind conditions can cause algae blooms to move from one location in the lake to another. As such, this advisory will remain in effect for Little Fish Lake, until further notice.

Please note that waters of Little Fish Lake in which the cyanobacterial bloom is NOT visible can still be used for recreational purposes, even while this Health Advisory is in place.

If you suspect a problem related to cyanobacteria or if you require further information on health concerns and cyanobacteria, please call Health Link at 811. Additional information is also available online, at www.ahs.ca/bga.


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