The flood program has made great progress in increasing the flood resilience of the Drumheller Valley. North Drumheller and East Coulee berm construction are well underway —they are both moving along smoothly. The downtown berm is fully complete and the pathways and park are now open to the public.
Over the course of the month, Phase 2 of the East Coulee berm has continued its construction process. Topsoil stripping has been completed along the entire footprint of the berm. The footprint of the berm was also fully prepared for fill placement and the placement of clay has now begun for the berm.
Power poles in the area have been taken into consideration, either being worked around or relocated. As construction has been underway for some time, the East Coulee site currently has large excavations, contractor equipment and areas not appropriate for foot traffic. Contractors ask the residents and visitors of East Coulee to please respect the construction fencing and signage during all hours of the day. Respecting the fencing along with other safety precautions put in place by the Town or Contractor will result in a faster and safer construction process.
Phase 1 of construction in East Coulee is complete and is now seeing grass sprouting, along with some weed activity. Contractors are monitoring the weeds closely and mowing/picking them as required. Phase 1 will have additional riprap placement upstream still to come in late summer.
During the past month, North Drumheller construction has continued on Michichi Creek West Berm, Michichi Creek East Berm, Michichi Creek Channel Re-Alignment and Hospital Extension Berm. The majority of time in the first few weeks was spent hauling in material (clay), and material compaction on Michichi Creek East and Michichi Creek West berms, this work is nearing completion.
The drainage swale on the Michichi Creek East Berm was graded and the slopes were trimmed. Topsoil placement on berm slopes as well as the clay trimming of slopes has been ongoing through the past weeks as well. Excavation for the realignment of Michichi Creek has begun at the north end of the Michichi Creek West Berm.
Construction for the sanitary sewer lift station south of the Drumheller Health Centre has begun, with ground-breaking two weeks ago. The project will soon be receiving an order of willow stakes that will be placed along the riprap on the realigned Michichi Creek channel. This is a type of engineering called bioengineering where we use plants to help stabilize channel banks so that the channel will be more natural, and it is better for the environment. The design will consist of layers of rock and plants. The idea is that when the plants mature, they will hide the rock, giving the creek a more natural appearance and their roots will provide additional stability to the channel banks.
The riprap that was originally installed in Michichi Creek has not washed away. During construction, Wilco discovered that the riprap is in fact still there, it’s just become buried in soil and hidden by the willows that naturally grew between the rocks over time. This rock has been removed and will be reused on-site for the channel realignment. Once finished, we will be trying to replicate this same effect with the design to give the creek a natural appearance and to provide added habitat for the wildlife in the area.
Maintenance of berms by contractors continues for those berms constructed in 2023 for a two-year period. A survey has been released to The Town of Drumheller residents asking for your input on where new trees and shrubs should be planted, we ask all that are able to participate to do so to get the most information and well-rounded view possible.
