Fairmont Debris Flow Mitigation

Approximately 80 people took part in a community information meeting regarding the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project on Thursday in Fairmont.

“It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout to the meeting,” says RDEK Electoral Area F Director Susan Clovechok. “Staff did a great job in covering all aspects of the project from the background of its evolution to the complex and significant funding, current construction updates and upcoming project elements.”

Following presentations by various RDEK project team members, the floor was opened for questions. “The Q&A portion of the meeting was insightful, and I appreciated all those who stepped forward to ask questions and share their comments,” adds Clovechok.

Construction on the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project is well underway and is expected to continue for the next three weeks before shutting down for the winter season. Current efforts are focused on completing the relocation of the watermains; and, a temporary creek diversion around a short section of the work site downstream of the existing reservoir in order to build the outlet structure for the new debris barrier. Once construction breaks for the winter, it will not resume again until spring when weather conditions allow.

A rendering of the completed structure and a host of project-specific information has been posted on the project page: https://engage.rdek.bc.ca/debris. A recording of the meeting and copies of the presentation slides will also be available on the project page the week of December 4.

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The project team has continued to move forward through the month of November, and after a busy month of construction on the Cold Spring Creek Project, are making good progress.

The team is planning to continue working for about the next three weeks and will then be shutting down for the winter. They will be starting up in the spring when the weather conditions are suitable. As we continue with construction into December the crew will need to monitor the temperatures and take care that the backfill material does not freeze so it can be placed correctly around the watermains once they are installed. This is especially important within the barrier footprint.

Work activities over the last month include the following:

• Removal of the slash leftover from clearing that took place earlier in the project.
• Access road construction has continued. We will continue to place material on the road as excavation takes place.
• Sorting material from the excavation has continued. We have several huge boulders and a large enough quantity of rocks suitably sized and shaped for use as riprap that we are not expecting to have to import any riprap for the project. Photos of both piles are included below. It is worth noting that these boulders made their way to the site as part of previous debris flows.
• Construction on the weir at the upstream end of the diversion is continuing – the intake pipe has been placed connecting the weir to the reservoir and the approach slabs have been poured.
• Work has begun on the water lines. The pipe is being fused and placed in the casing pipes. Excavations for the watermains are beginning this week.

Over the next three weeks:

• Slash removal will be completed.
• Work will continue on the watermains with the goal being to have the new sections tied in to the existing mains before the winter shutdown. There will be a water service interruption during the tie in and we are working closely with FHSR and their water operator to ensure that the impact to their customers is minimized. There will be more information about this leading up to the service interruption so everyone will have adequate notice.
• The temporary creek diversion work will begin. The creek will need to be diverted around a short section of the work site downstream of the existing reservoir and dam in order to build the outlet structure for the barrier. Most of the diversion will be constructed before the winter shutdown but the diversion will not be activated until the spring.

A rendering of the completed structure is included below and it has been marked up to explain how the different components together. It will also be posted in the Project-Specific Documents folder.

As a reminder, there will continue to be increased traffic to and from the worksite during the construction period and the work area will be closed to the public for the duration of the project. Thank you to everyone for your cooperation!

If there are any questions about the project, please don’t hesitate to contact the project manager at the RDEK, Kara Zandbergen at kzandbergen@rdek.bc.ca.

ON-SITE ROCKS:

MARKED UP RENDERING:

A quick reminder that the RDEK will be hosting a community meeting tomorrow (November 30) to provide an update on the project, and answer questions. The meeting will run from 2pm-4pm in the Cedar Room at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort.

The meeting will be recorded and posted on this project page for anyone unable to attend in person. For those unable to attend, but that would like to have questions asked at the meeting, they can be submitted in advance until 5pm on November 29 here: https://engage.rdek.bc.ca/embeds/projects/40475/survey-tools/43010

Our project team is available at any time to answer questions about the project, so this community meeting is not the only opportunity for information or to ask questions. You can reach out at any time to project lead Kara Zandbergen - and her contact info is on the project page under "FOR MORE INFO" tab.

You are invited to join us for a Community Information Meeting on the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project:

November 30, 2023 - 2:00pm to 4:00pm
Cedar Room - Fairmont Hot Springs Resort
5225 Fairmont Resort Road, Fairmont Hot Springs

The meeting will include presentations and a project update followed by time for questions and answers.

We recognize that there will be some people who are not able to attend in person, and unfortunately, we are not able to offer a Zoom option for the meeting; however, we WILL record the meeting and post it on the project page (I'll send the link to this email group as well).

If you are unable to attend, but have questions you would like to have asked, please submit them in advance by 5pm on November 29th here:

• https://engage.rdek.bc.ca/embeds/projects/40475/survey-tools/43010

We are working on coordinating a community meeting in Fairmont to provide a project overview and update and will send out more information once details have been finalized.

The project team has had a busy month of construction on the Cold Spring Creek Project and are making good progress. Over the last month they have moved a tremendous amount of material. The excavated material is being sorted on site so that it can be used more effectively. The larger boulders are being stockpiled and they are sized and shaped such that we will be able to use them for riprap where it is needed. This is a really great cost savings for the project over purchasing and trucking riprap from outside and we have far more material suitable for riprap than we expected to find. The finer material is being used to construct the access road.

Work activities over the last month include the following:

• The basin excavation continues. The footprint of the basin has been completed and the crew is working on sloping the excavation appropriately.
• Construction on the weir at the upstream end of the diversion is continuing – the location was excavated and concrete has been poured for the base of the weir and the walls.
• As noted above, the excavated material from the basin and the weir is being sorted and the finer material has been used to construct the new access road.
• The slash and logs are being removed from the site.
• Water lines have been located in preparation for that portion of the project.

Over the next two weeks:

• Slash removal will be completed.
• Work will continue on the weir. We will be excavating between the weir and the reservoir to place the intake pipe and installing the pipe and another concrete pour will take place to construct the approach slab for the weir.
• Some preparation work will be done for watermain replacements.
• Riprap sorting will continue.
• The temporary creek diversion work will begin. The creek will need to be diverted around a short section of the work site downstream of the existing reservoir and dam in order to build the outlet structure for the barrier.

The project team is working on a schedule for the next year in order to have the construction substantially completed by the end of 2024. At this time, you can expect 2023 construction to continue into the fall until the weather shuts us down.

As a reminder, there will continue to be increased traffic to and from the worksite during the construction period and the work area will be closed to the public for the duration of the project. Thank you to everyone for your cooperation! If there are any questions about the project, please don’t hesitate to contact the project manager at the RDEK, Kara Zandbergen at kzandbergen@rdek.bc.ca.

Construction for the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project began on September 11 and is going well so far. During the first two weeks of construction, Mackay Contracting focused on the following construction activities:

• Mobilizing equipment and supplies to the work site.
• Site preparation activities such as piling brush from previously fallen trees, additional tree clearing, and removal and stockpiling of topsoil from the basin and channel diversion area.
• Excavation of the basin and diversion channel was started.
• The temporary creek crossing upstream of the existing reservoir was installed.
• Work began on the access road and on the spur road. The spur road accesses the left side of the barrier for construction.
• Construction began on the weir at the upstream end of the creek diversion.

The next two weeks will largely consist of:

• Continued excavation on the barrier and diversion.
• Continued work on the access road and spur road.
• Continued work on the weir.

2023 construction will continue into the fall until the weather shuts us down. There will continue to be increased traffic to and from the worksite during the construction period and the work area will be closed to the public for the duration of the project. Thank you to everyone for your cooperation!

After many months of work and planning, construction is beginning this week on the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project.

The construction contract has been awarded to MacKay Contracting, based out of Cranbrook.

• CLICK HERE to view the latest project newsletter and update.

At its June 9, 2023 Board Meeting, the RDEK Board approved $2.5 million in additional funding for the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project.

The move comes after increasing construction costs and inflationary pressures have strained the current project budget. “The construction tenders we received were all over budget and the project team has worked hard to streamline costs and look at other potential funding sources; however, that left us with insufficient funds to complete the mitigation works,” explains Electoral Area F Director Susan Clovechok. “I am deeply grateful to my fellow directors for recognizing and appreciating the urgency of approving these additional funds for this critical project.”

The Board approved $1.5 million in funding from the Growing Communities Fund, which is a one-time grant recently issued to local governments in BC for capital infrastructure projects. The RDEK received a total of $3.667 million in funding from the Province and has not yet decided how to allocate the remaining portion of the Growing Communities Fund grant.

In addition, the Board approved allocating $1 million from the Fairmont Flood and Landslide Service, which to date, has contributed only $150,000 to the overall project. This will be achieved through short term borrowing, which will be repaid by temporarily ceasing contributions to reserves and increasing taxation within the current maximums permitted under the Bylaw. Anticipated savings from the 2023 budget year will also be applied to the short-term borrowing to minimize impacts as much as possible.

As this project is largely funded through grants, the RDEK pays for the work up front and then submits the claims to the Province for reimbursement, which can take several months to be processed. The Province has agreed to do their best to expedite reimbursement. To help the RDEK manage the cash-flow throughout the project because of these reimbursement timelines, the Board also approved the short-term borrowing of $9 million from the Municipal Finance Authority. This will allow the RDEK to access required funds only when needed, that would then be immediately repaid upon reimbursement from the Province.

Preliminary work has already started on the Debris Flow Mitigation Project with construction of an access road and clearing; however, the major portion of the construction is anticipated to begin this summer. The construction contract has been awarded to MacKay Contracting Ltd.

BACKGROUNDER: Funding Summary

With the additional funding of $2.5 million announced June 9, the overall budget is: $13,598,000, with the following funding:

• Adaption, Resilience and Disaster Mitigation Program - $9,723,000
• Growing Communities Fund - $1,500,000
• Fairmont Flood and Landslide Service Area - $1,150,000
• UBCM Community Preparedness Fund - $750,000
• Community Works Fund - $475,000

Total including engineering and other related costs $13,598,000

This is just a quick final update on the debris removal efforts that have been underway in Fairmont.

The debris removal has been completed on both the upper debris basins on Fairmont Creek and on Cold Spring Creek. The final channel work on Fairmont Creek was completed the afternoon of June 8 and equipment / pumps are being demobilized.

Thank you again to everyone in Fairmont for your patience with the increased traffic while debris removal was completed.

Here is a quick update on the status of the debris removal in Fairmont Creek and Cold Spring Creek.

The contractor will start dewatering the upper debris basins on Fairmont Creek starting this morning. There will be additional pumps set up to help with this effort. Once enough water has been removed, debris removal will begin, so you can expect to see some additional traffic in the days to come. The Environmental Professionals will be on site to monitor the work, which is expected to take several days to complete.

Yesterday afternoon, the province approved the funding to complete the debris removal at the dam on Cold Spring Creek, which is amazing news. The contractor will move equipment onto that site over the weekend and the reservoir level will be lowered. We anticipate debris removal will get underway on Monday at that site.

Please stay away from the work areas to allow the operators to work safely and be aware of some additional traffic throughout the community in the days ahead while the debris removal is completed.