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.