Continued opposition to proposed Springbank Dam

CALGARY (660 NEWS) – Tsuut’ina members and ranching families are continuing to fight the proposed Springbank Dam, a dry reservoir that would temporarily store water during a flood.

The groups held a unity ride as a sign of reconciliation and commitment to preserve the land. The Springbank Dam would be 15 kilometres west of Calgary, north of the Elbow River and east of Highway 22.

Flood mitigation has been an especially hot topic for the City of Calgary and the Province as this past June was the five-year anniversary of the devastating flood that left many Calgary-and-area neighbourhoods under water. But, land owners who will be affected–like Mary-Ellen Robinson–aren’t exactly keen on the idea of this particular mitigation project.

“None of us want to sell. We just want to carry on with our lives, our families, our businesses. That’s what we have to lose, our homes, our heritage, our businesses, our livelihoods. We have everything to lose,” said Robinson. She believes the government chose Springbank as an easy option.

“They originally thought it’d be fast, cheap, and easy. Here we are five years later and nothing has been done.”

This isn’t the first time people living and working in the area have challenged the project. A couple of other groups, including the Springbank Community Association and Don’t Damn Springbank, have already weighed in.

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Tsuut’ina Chief Lee Crowchild believes there needs to be a better dialogue and everyone needs to be included in the conversation.

“We have to work together and find out what is the real solution. Part of it might be dams, part of it might be finding places to hold the water in collection places that aren’t affecting people so much that it affects their livelihoods,” said Crowchild.

“It’s not enough… They (provincial government) haven’t really engaged with us. They have been telling us what the solution is, they’ve never asked us what do we think the solution should be.”

Both groups would rather see Maclean Creek dammed, but according to the government’s website, that option isn’t as environmentally friendly.

Construction on the Springbank project is expected to start by the end of 2019.