Repairs expected for erosion caused by high water in Michichi Creek

The Town of Drumheller and the Province of Alberta are currently monitoring and working on an assessment of the area damaged by the high stream flow in Michichi Creek this spring.

    Last April, an extremely high flow event occurred on the Michichi Creek. The flow through this section of the creek was one of the largest known on record and resulted in much higher than typical water velocities. The high flow caused erosion along some portions of the creek bank. The areas affected included land on the north side of the creek and land near the creek close to 9th Street NW.
The bank erosion is contained within the Government of Alberta right-of-way, and the Town of Drumheller and the Province of Alberta are currently working on an assessment and repair plan for the sections affected.
    Mayor Terry Yemen said he took lobbying on the part of council and administration to have the problem addressed at a higher level.
    “There were a number of doors slammed in our faces,” said Yemen.
    “We finally got to the right person who had the authority for it, saw what we were saying and said, ‘Yeah, Drumheller you are right, it is our responsibility to mitigate and fix that.’’”
    Currently the Town and the province are jointly monitoring the recently eroded area for any further changes or additional erosion. When the level of Michichi Creek begins to decrease further repair and assessments will be made. The timing of the repairs will be dependent on having sufficiently low water levels in the creek. It is anticipated that the channel repair and restoration will be performed in the early fall.