The City is starting to take steps to complete upgrades to the Northwest Drainage Channel.
On Monday, Council approved the proposal from MPE Engineering Ltd. to perform engineering design and construction management services to complete the Northwest Drainage Channel Upgrade Project for $140,800.00.
The point of the upgrades is to improve culverts at specific road and railway crossings and to reshape parts of the channel to improve storm water flow during a major storm event. The total cost of the upgrades is estimated at $3.4 million. The cost of the upgrades on the Alberta side is approximately $2,979,600, 90% of that is being covered by The Province of Alberta Community Resilience Program (ACRP) grant. The total funding required by the City of Lloydminster for both Alberta and Saskatchewan portions of the project is estimated to be $700,000.
“When a flood does occur, we’ve been stressed and challenged with our drainage capabilities. By enlarging and improving the drainage from our various reservoirs in the system that’s in place, the drainage channel, this will aid and assist the city in hopefully improving water management in a storm,” says Mayor Gerald Aalbers.
He adds this will help the entire city indirectly, but the effects will mainly be felt by the properties adjacent to the channel.
“Anything that adds to that Northwest Drainage Channel, this will be the first improvement you’ll see in that perspective. There’s additional work that needs to be done in our drainage channels and we’ll be managing that going forward over the next few years.”
The project is expected to be completed by the end of next year.