Malloy Basin drainage project facing funding deficit

By Erika Mathieu
Sunny South News

Lethbridge County council has approved Coaldale’s request for a letter of support to move forward their Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund Application (DMAF) to resolve the current funding deficit related to the Malloy Basin drainage projects.

The Malloy Drain Implementation plan involves the Town of Coaldale, Lethbridge County, and the St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID), which have been working for several years to address stormwater drainage issues within and surrounding the town of Coaldale.

As discussed during the County’s May 18 council meeting, to date, Phases 1 and 2a have been completed. Although Phase 2b was approved in the budget, Director of Infrastructure at Lethbridge County, Devon Thiele told council, “there have been delays to the project beyond the County’s control, and due to inflation, we now have a project funding deficit.”

The Town of Coaldale had previously signed on to do the engineering on the project with one of their staff members. However, factors stemming from delays during the land acquisition process and a staffing challenge at the Town of Coaldale have resulted in Phase 2b project being delayed.

As such, several discussions with all three parties as well as MPE Engineering and the grant funding authorities took place to identify ways to bridge the gap in funding. The scope of the initial grant funding underwent revision which would reduce the funding required and that additional financial supports be sought out through DMAF in order to complete outstanding work no longer included in the scope of the project. DMAF funding was previously awarded to the County for the Horsefly Spillway project.

Thiele outlined the initial scope of the project included the redeployment of raw water reservoirs on the southeast end of Coaldale, the installation of stormwater pipeline, and the construction of a stormwater reservoir at the south end of Coaldale,” near the Cottonwood development.

“This phase received funding through the “Alberta Community Resilience Program” and the “Investing in Canada Infrastructure” program in 2019.

The revised scope of Phase 2b now includes the he redeployment of raw water reservoirs on the southeast end of Coaldale and the installation of stormwater pipeline, and the new scope under DMAF would include the construction of a stormwater reservoir at the south end of Coaldale, which is also referred to as the South Coaldale Regional Stormwater Management Facility. Thiele added applying for DMAF funding, “will enable all three parties to potentially have access to additional grant funds to help offset price escalations.”

Whether the grant application is successful or not, County administration intends to follow up with the CAO of the Town of Coaldale and general manager of SMRID to go through what next steps should be whether funding through DMAF is approved or denied.

Administration’s recommendation to approve a letter of support and authorize Coaldale’s application to DMAF for the South Coaldale Regional Stormwater Management Facility on behalf of Town, County and SMRID was passed by council.

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