Fairmont Debris Flow Mitigation
On October 29, the RDEK hosted two public information sessions to present the plans for Phase 1 of the Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project and the recent hazard assessment that was completed on Cold Spring Creek.
Electoral Area F Director Susan Clovechok facilitated the sessions, which kicked off with a presentation by RDEK Engineering Technician Kara Zandbergen who presented an overview of the Fairmont Flood & Landslide Service. The second presenter of the night was Dr. Matthias Jakob of BGC Engineering, an internationally respected expert on debris flood and debris flows, who did a detailed presentation on the Cold Spring Creek Hazard Assessment he just completed on the creek. Finally, McElhany Engineering's Karen Prezelj presented the plans for Phase 1 of the project. The presentations were followed by questions and answers at each session. A full biography of the presenters is available in the documents section.
The video of the full 7:00pm session is linked below. Key times are as follows:
- 11:43 - Video starts
- 15:23 - Fairmont Flood & Landslide Service Overview (Kara Zandbergen, RDEK)
- 26:48 - Cold Spring Creek Hazard Assessment 2020 (Dr. Matthias Jakob, BGC Engineering)
- 1:17:23 - Phase 1 - Cold Spring Creek Debris Flow Mitigation Project (Karen Prezelj, McElhaney Engineering)
- 1:21:18 - Q&A
The 2pm session experienced some technical difficulties and the first part of the meeting was cut off; however, both sessions featured the same presentations. The video of the Q&A session from the 2pm session is posted below as some of the questions were different between the two sessions.
We are currently building a Q&A module for the site, where some of the questions and answers from the session will be included and that residents can use to ask questions throughout the project moving forward. We hope to have this feature launched soon.
We would like to thank everyone who joined us on October 29th. For those who were unable to attend, we hope you will find the video file informational.
Full Presentations and Q&A Session (7pm Session):
2:00PM Question and Answer Session:
General Overview:
The RDEK has debris flow mitigation infrastructure on both Fairmont Creek and Cold Spring Creek in Fairmont. They are regularly inspected and maintained as needed.
In 2018, the RDEK completed a multi-phase mitigation project on Fairmont Creek. Debris flow mitigation on Cold Spring Creek was identified as a priority project by the RDEK Board in its 2019/2020 Strategic Plan.
In October 2019, the RDEK applied for $750,000 in funding from the Union of BC Municipalities Community Emergency Preparedness Fund Structural Flood Mitigation Program for a debris flow mitigation project on Cold Spring Creek. The funding was awarded in March 2020. $150,000 in reserves were added to the project to bring the budget to $900,000.
The engineering contract was awarded to McElhanney on May 29, 2020. As part McElhanney’s proposal, they partnered with Dr. Mattias Jakob of BCG Engineering to update the hazard assessment for Cold Spring Creek, which he presented to the Board on October 1. The assessment determined that previous studies underestimated the potential for damaging debris flows. As a result, the RDEK has taken immediate action to widen the scope of the Cold Spring Creek project. The consultants have completed a conceptual design for a debris flow containment net that could collect approximately 20,000 cubic metres of debris. The total cost for this phase is now estimated to be $1.375 million.
On October 2, 2020 the RDEK Board approved $275,000 in new Community Works funding and the re-allocation of $200,000 that was previously approved for the Swansea Road watermain project to ensure funding is in place and Phase 1 can be completed.
The assessment report can be found under the Documents section on this project page. This assessment is quite different from the previous assessment that was competed in 2015 and shows that the hazard has been understated in the past.
The mitigation on Cold Spring Creek will be completed in several phases. The design for Phase 1 is currently underway with construction expected to occur in 2021. Future phase(s) will occur as funding becomes available and we are actively pursuing funding opportunities.
For more information on Fairmont debris flow mitigation, please contact Kara Zandbergen at [email protected] or 1-888-478-7335 in our Cranbrook RDEK office.