The Buzz
LATITUDE
been proposed by municipalities, consul- tants and residents. A research firm from the Netherlands, hired by the province, concluded the $264-million Springbank Off-stream Reservoir, combined with $33 million in local mitigation projects in Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows were the best options. Other ideas that have been dismissed include a dry dam upstream at the confluence of McLean Creek and the Elbow River, and a diver- sion tunnel under the city. Preliminary engineering work has begun on the 70.2-million-cubic-metre reservoir, located about 15 kilometres west of Calgary. This, combined with other flood mitigation efforts and improvements to the Glenmore Reservoir, would protect against a 2013-level flood. Work in the smaller communities may include dikes and drains. Landowners impacted by the reservoir plan to fight the development as it moves through the environmental assessment stage. A Bow River working group has been established to investigate other flood mitigation and watershed management solutions. Five new studies are also underway to identify river hazards and develop new flood inundation and hazard maps for the Bow, Elbow, Sheep, Highwood, and Peace Rivers. -Corinne Lutter
-photo courtesy City of Calgary
GREEN TRANSIT COMING TO MEDICINE HAT
Medicine Hat is getting more than $14 million from the province’s Green Transit Incentives Program to improve public transit in the city. The GreenTRIP funding, announced in early November, is for 36 new buses and other improvements to the transportation network that will make public transit more comfortable, safe, and accessible. The city just renovated its Transit and Fleet Services Building so it could switch to buses fueled by compressed natural gas, which increases efficiency and produces fewer emissions than diesel. -Corinne Lutter
RAY CATCHERS (top) Located atop the Southland Leisure Centre, the City of Calgary’s largest solar panel installation will produce between 161,000 and 184,000 kWh of electricity each year. 200,000 TONNES AND COUNTING (bottom) Since September, Shell's Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project has already sequestered over 200,000 tonnes of CO 2 in underground wells. -photo courtesy Business Wire
WINTER 2015 PEG | 21
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