The County of Stettler council unanimously voiced support for a proposed dam and reservoir project east of Red Deer. The decision was passed at the Apr. 22 regular meeting of council.

During the “council’s request for information” section of the agenda, Coun. James Nibourg requested council discuss recent media reports that the Government of Alberta is continuing to collect input about a possible new dam and/or reservoir system suggested for areas east of the City of Red Deer.

Nibourg stated that it appears the provincial government is going to collect more public input throughout this coming summer regarding the idea of developing a water storage system that would run roughly 40 km east of Red Deer, much of that area within the boundaries of the County of Stettler.

Nibourg suggested the proposed east Red Deer River system would include the Ardley dam area west of Content Bridge.

He stated that he felt it was important to bring it forward, as a major new reservoir system could have significant benefits for the County of Stettler. “I think it’s important,” said Nibourg. “The economic development opportunity this would provide to the area is immense.”

Coun. Nibourg stated that not only should the County of Stettler provide input on the project, but also notify other stakeholders such as the Town of Stettler, which may not be aware of this opportunity, and MLA Nate Horner.

Nibourg noted that a dam and reservoir are not going to be built tomorrow, but if the project does proceed, it could have a strong positive impact on county residents and businesses.

“The economic spin-off of this would be in the billions of dollars over a period of time,” said Nibourg.

The provincial government’s investigation into the possibility of a new dam began one to two years ago at the height of drought; the province is also looking at how a new dam and reservoir could help control flood problems further downstream.

Since the effort began, the Government of Alberta has released a working group report that concluded the Red Deer River’s current infrastructure is insufficient to handle both droughts and floods.

Councillors unanimously agreed to provide input supporting the dam and reservoir proposal to the provincial government, along with sending a copy of that letter to the Town of Stettler and MLA Horner.