The Fairmont Flood & Landslide Service is in place within the community of Fairmont. Within the Service Area, the RDEK has debris flow mitigation infrastructure on both Fairmont Creek and Cold Spring Creek. This infrastructure is regularly inspected and maintained as needed.

After completing a multi-phase debris flow mitigation project on Fairmont Creek in 2018, debris flow mitigation on Cold Spring Creek was identified as a priority project by the RDEK Board in its 2019/2020 Strategic Plan. The project has received significant funding: 91.5% from federal and provincial funding streams.

Construction is underway and project updates can be found below in the PROJECT UPDATES tab below.

APRIL 2024 UPDATE:

After a brief winter shut down period through the latter part of December and the month of January, construction started in early February to take advantage of the mild winter weather.

While our winter was mild by Kootenay standards, we still needed to ensure that the work completed in the winter months was not sensitive to cold temperatures. With this in mind, the focus for the month of February was on earth moving activities such as excavating the diversion channel and placing riprap. In March, construction ramped up and the focus turned to preparing for the upcoming water main tie ins.

• April 2024 Project Newsletter

For more information on Fairmont debris flow mitigation, please contact engineeringdept@rdek.bc.ca or 1-888-478-7335 in our Cranbrook RDEK office.

We are building a large debris flow barrier that is designed to contain between 68,000 to 90,000 cubic meters of debris flow material which is roughly a 100 to 300 year debris flow event. This project will significantly reduce the debris flow risk in the community.

There are a few key construction components:

1. The Barrier and Outlet Structure: The barrier will be approximately 8m tall above the existing Cold Spring Creek channel with a 3m wide vertical outlet opening at the channel. The outlet will have steel bars that will capture debris but allow water to pass through. The barrier will be constructed of roller compacted concrete (RCC) which is a concrete mixture that is placed in lifts and compacted.
2. The Creek Diversion and Basin: There will be a basin excavated behind the barrier for debris storage and the creek will be diverted into the basin and will then flow out of the outlet structure which will be located at the existing Cold Spring Creek channel.
3. The Water Lines: The water lines that service the community are located in the project area. The lines will be reinforced and relocated as part of the project. There will be a brief interruption to the water service to the community later this fall when the new lines are tied in.
4. The Access Road: An access road will be constructed to upstream of the barrier for both construction and future maintenance.