During a recent capital planning session, Sundre council voted to consider during upcoming budget deliberations spending $200,000 in 2015 to supply gas to the east side of town.
During a recent capital planning session, Sundre council voted to consider during upcoming budget deliberations spending $200,000 in 2015 to supply gas to the east side of town.
The project would include installing a four-inch diameter polyethylene gas pipeline from Foothills Gas Co-op to the east edge of town.
The money would be spent from Municipal Sustainability Initiative (MSI) Capital Grant funding.
Council recently sent a letter to Alberta government officials requesting a meeting, after voting unanimously against spending $28,000 on engineering services to apply for a grant for flood related projects.
The provincial government launched the Alberta Community Resiliency Program in June for flood-affected communities. The program grants 90 per cent of engineering and construction costs towards approved projects that cost up to $3 million, and 70 per cent for projects exceeding $3 million.
But Sundre councillors believe the province should pay for 100 per cent of the costs.
Previous to this, town officials were unsuccessful in their bid for a $200,000 grant from the Alberta Flood Recovery Erosion Control Program for the gas-servicing project.
They were advised at that time that the municipality may qualify to apply for the project under the Alberta Community Resiliency Program.
An existing gas line is located under the Highway 27 bridge over the Red Deer River, but officials say if another flood comes through town, the line could be damaged.
"Major alterations to the bridge, an accident or flooding could all cause major disruptions to the gas system on the east side," town officials reported to council during the capital planning session.
"Conversely, should the west side feed source become a problem, the proposed feed from the east side could become very important to maintain supply."
During the flood in 2013, the gas main sustained significant damage due to the amount of debris flowing under the bridge, according to officials.
A section of the gas main was dislodged because one of the pipe supports for it was completely torn off the bridge, leaving the gas main hanging underneath.
"Had the gas main severed or broke, the results could have been a gas leak, fire or explosion causing potential damage to the only bridge in Sundre," Dave Dubauskas, the town's chief administrative officer, said in a letter requesting the funding earlier this year.
"The potential population without gas in the event of this type of occurrence would be in the order of 1,375."
The gas line is the only municipal service to the east side of town, so if flow in it was disrupted, approximately 50 residential homes, a trailer park consisting of about 25 permanent trailers, about 30 businesses and Tall Timber Leisure Park would be without gas service.
Officials are proposing that the gas servicing to the east side be provided from the east side. This would allow for the gas line under the bridge to be shut off during a flood event, without impacting east side residents.
The Foothills Gas Co-op has an existing gas main on the east side of town they are willing to allow the town to connect to so the servicing can be provided.
A station located on the west side of town on the TransCanada pipeline currently supplies gas to the entire town of Sundre.
