Alix Council: Nearby dam seeing ‘normal’ water levels

Alix village council heard a report that a nearby water storage facility is seeing “normal” water levels as drought warnings loom over Alberta. The report was made at the May 1 regular meeting of council.

During regular committee reports Coun. Tim Besuijen, also chair of the Hwy. #12/21 Water Commission, reported that the Dickson Dam, located about 50km southwest of the City of Red Deer, had information that allayed some fears about a spring drought in central Alberta.

“As part of the chair report I reached out to the Dickson Dam operational personnel for an update on status of dam,” stated Besuijen in his committee report to council.

He noted the dam personnel use this information to address the outflow of the dam over the year to maintain sufficient water for downstream users.

The operators report stated, “At present the reservoir is approximately one metre below the average elevation for this date. For some extra context on this date in 2022 and 2023 the reservoir was below average 2.4m and 3.9m respectively.

“Our inflow today is calculated at about 24.3cm and outflow 16.3cm. Currently our reservoir is rising slowly due to the local plain’s runoff.

“On a positive note our mountain snowpack is doing well at the two snow pillow stations we monitor for our basin,” stated the report, which noted the Limestone location was described as “well above average” snow pack while the Skoki location was described as “average” snow pack.

Councillors accepted the report as information.

Fifty year milestone
Councillors unanimously approved the addition of a 50-year milestone to the municipality’s policy that handles such events. They read a memo prepared by staff member Chelsie Giesbrecht.

“The option of adding in a 50-year milestone plaque and defining what ‘years of service’ meant for those who applied and council directed administration to update the policy and bring to a future meeting for review,” stated Giesbrecht’s report.

“The policy reflects the addition of a 50-years service plaque for the inside of a building and 100 years service plaque for the outside of the building.

The definition of ‘years of service’ means that no matter the location or ownership of the service, the recognition plaques request can be submitted as long as there was no disruption to service.”

During discussion Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) Michelle White clarified it didn’t matter if a business, for example, existed for 50 years with different owners, it would still qualify for the plaque as long as it was in operation for 50 continuous years.

The policy applies to businesses and service clubs such as churches, societies, boards and organizations.

Staff also noted the village would pay the tab for these plaques which were estimated cost between $80 to $100 all told.

Municipal census
Councillors were informed the Village of Alix will conduct its own census beginning May 7. The CAO noted village staff will be conducting the census.

It was noted the census will be short and take a resident only about two minutes and involves no paperwork. Census data is important for the municipality in applying for grants and other programs.

Water leak
During his committee report Coun. Besuijen also noted the Hwy. #12/21 Water Commission dealt with a recent leak.

“Update on leak around Edberg…coupling had let go,” stated Besuijen’s report.

“This is the new construction and was pressure tested prior to commissioning, unsure of why [it] failed.”

Stu Salkeld
Local Journalism Initiative reporter
ECA Review

About the author

Stu Salkeld

Stu Salkeld, who has upwards of 28 years of experience in the Alberta community newspaper industry, is now covering councils and other news in the Stettler region and has experience working in the area as well.

He has joined the ECA Review as a Local Journalism Initiative Journalist.

Stu earned his two-year diploma in print journalism from SAIT in Calgary from 1993 to ’95 and was raised in Oyen, Alta., one of the communities within the ECA Review’s coverage area.