Harrison Hot Springs will be applying for a grant to protect the road between Qwólts Park and the wastewater treatment plant from flooding, but not every councillor is on board with the plan.
In council Monday night (Oct. 21), infrastructure manager Troy Davis outlined the plan for a Community Emergency Preparedness fund application that would see upgrades to both the roads and the riparian area along the lake.
“During the 2018 freshet, the access road to the treatment plant experienced flooding,” Davis said.
“There’s also some problem deciduous trees around the treatment plant itself.”
The plan would see the roadbed raised an average of 100mm, as well as improve rip rap and geotextile along the shoreline, upgrade existing culverts and replace 72 deciduous trees along the road to prevent erosion. The project would also remove some of the problem trees around the treatment plant.
The estimated project cost is $350,000 and would be completely paid for by the grant funding if approved.
According to Davis, a large portion of the budget is for First Nations consultation and archaeological examination.
SEE ALSO: Qwólts Park now officially open in Harrison
During discussion about the project, councillor Ray Hooper expressed his concerns about the number of trees that would be removed.
“I thought it was one or two in the recommendation, but 72 seems an awful lot,” Hooper said, adding that the trees could have roots that go deep under the road and could possibly impact any piping in the area.
CAO Madeline McDonald noted that although the village engineer of record has developed a work plan for the project, which was signed off by a qualified environmental professional, most of the details for the proposed upgrades are still unknown.
This including how deep the tree roots go and whether removing them would cause issues with other infrastructure.
“We haven’t spent substantive money on design work yet because the project’s not been approved,” she said. “These grants can be quite difficult to get … but certainly, as pointed out, any expenditures of this magnitude would come back to council for approval through the tender process.”
Harrison council voted to submit the grant application for the road project, with Hooper opposed.
grace.kennedy@ahobserver.com
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