The meandering and unpredictable nature of Wolf Creek is severely affecting a property and Ponoka County is looking at how it can be fixed.
The home, located on Creek Road in Wolf Creek Estates just north of the 17th hole of the old course at Wolf Creek Golf Resort, has seen the bank at the rear of the property wash out over time. It has become so bad that part of a fence is taken out and there are fears it will continue to wash out the property.
“However, the fact is it could arguably be the responsibility of the county as we were the development authority for Wolf Creek Estates and ultimately see any damage claims because we approved the permits,” explained CAO Charlie Cutforth, pointing out that normally this situation is a homeowner’s responsibility to deal with.
Cutforth added the real problem stems with how the creek path was ‘straightened’ north of Lacombe and the fact Alberta Environment licenced the project.
“So, when Lacombe discharges from their waste water lagoons, it rushes north and then backs up when it hits all of the twists and dams north of the golf course,” he stated.
The issue came to council at its Dec. 11 meeting, where a report was presented with an estimate of $25,000 to remedy the issue.
“It looks like a minor job, one that could be solved quickly with a backhoe, but there is a huge list that Alberta Environment needs completed before it will approve any work and that’s the cost provided by the engineer,” Cutforth said.
That list includes water sampling and testing, a quality assurance report, stream monitoring and a fish salvage study among other items.
He did state the cost for the project could be cut in half if the creek freezes completely over.
“The fish studies and such would not have to be done if it froze all the way to the bottom. We are fairly confident of that though, then we can save some money and get it done,” Cutforth said.
Council approved spending for the project, even at the higher cost should it be necessary.
No timeline for the job was available.
jordie.dwyer@ponokanews.com
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