Canmore gets $10M more for Cougar Creek debris dam

Alberta is putting another $10.3 million towards a debris dam meant to protect Canmore from flooding.

The mountain town west of Calgary suffered $50 million in damage when the usually tame Cougar Creek flooded in 2013, destroying homes and washing out highways.

Debris, felled trees and giant boulders swept up in the flood did most of the damage, carving out 130,000 square metres of the creek bed and banks.

The $48.6-million debris dam is meant to prevent that kind of destruction.

"During a flood, our steep mountain creeks can quickly, and with little warning, bring down damaging debris," said MLA Cameron Westhead on Friday while announcing the additional $10.3 million.

"This funding will go towards the construction of a debris dam at the apex of Cougar Creek that will protect homes, businesses and the Trans-Canada Highway. This 100-metre wide structure will help ensure public safety by holding back dangerous landslide debris and keeping evacuation routes clear during severe weather events."

The structure will be able to hold back up to 650,000 cubic metres of water and mountain debris.

The latest funding from the province, announced in the 2017 budget, is on top of a previous $20 million from Alberta, and $14 million from the federal government.

The Town of Canmore, which launched the project on its own, is covering the rest of the bill.

"This is a big day for Canmore," said Mayor John Borrowman. "We've been working towards this for four years now — hard to believe — and it was a bit of a leap of faith for the council in July of 2014 to move forward on this project all on our own."

In a separate news conference, Westhead also announced $35,000 to help pay for solar panels on the Canmore Civic Centre building.

The 192 solar panels, which cost a total of $124,000, are expected to help cut the energy costs on the building by 20 per cent.

- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Alberta woman kidnapped, held for 5 days in South Carolina trailer

- MORE CALGARY NEWS | Alberta hit by another credit rating downgrade