During the Regular Council Meeting on May 9, 2022, Town Council voted to cancel the Downtown Dike Phase 1 tender to allow time to complete design revisions in an effort to save costs.
In early April, the Town issued a request for tenders for the Downtown Dike Phase 1 construction, along with additional Centennial Park improvements work, and a sidewalk at the Drumheller Valley Secondary School.
The tender closed on April 26, 2022. Due to rising costs and tight timelines, the dike construction component of both bids received exceeded the $1.4 million budget for Phase 1 construction.
“Council is committed to building the most effective protection system we can afford,” said Mayor Heather Colberg.
To identify options for additional savings, the Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office is reviewing the overall Downtown dike design. The design teams are also examining other dike projects for potential savings opportunities.
Based on the tender pricing received and discussions with contractors, overall program costs are expected to exceed the available budget.
While the design teams are looking at a range of areas to save on costs, the dike will be built and the design flow rate will remain at 1,850 m3 /s, as set by the Province of Alberta.
To offset the financial impacts of volatile market conditions, requests for additional funding are underway with the Provincial and Federal Governments.
While design optimization work continues for the Downtown Dike, construction is now projected to proceed in 2023.
For more information, please contact the Resiliency and Flood Mitigation Office at: floodreadiness@drumheller.ca, or (403) 823-4878.

The new leadership team at St.Antony’s School is complete as Mrs. Susan Currie and Ms. Betina Gross have been appointed vice principals.
Curry began her teaching career with Christ The Redeemer (CTR) Catholic School, she has taught in almost every division at St. Anthony’s School. Her teaching assignments have included a broad range of classes from Kindergarten in Elementary to Junior and Senior High Art, Humanities, Math, Astronomy, and Construction.
She graduated from the University of New Brunswick with First Class Honours and Distinction in her Anthropology, Chemistry, and Education Degrees. She is continually pursuing educational opportunities and has completed CTR’s Aspiring Leaders program, the Start Right Program for Beginning School Leaders, and is currently enrolled in St. Mary’s University Leadership Quality Standard Certification program.
In accepting this new leadership role of Vice-Principal, Mrs. Currie stated “It’s truly been a blessing working with the wonderful staff and community at St. Anthony’s School over the past decade. I’m greatly looking forward to continuing this journey in a new role in which I can further serve and support the needs of our staff and community.”