Fort MacMurray is slated to receive a $10 million anti-flood grant from the province, and this is much needed relief for area residents and businesses that may be affected by flooding from the Athabasca River and the thaw that occurs each spring. Two years ago Fort MacMurray experienced severe flooding in some areas, and the province announced the anti-flood grant in order to fund flood mitigation infrastructure. The grant funding was announced by Environment Minister Kyle Fawcett at MacDonald Island Park. Fawcett stated “Albertans are resilient. The disaster brought out the best in Albertans and we’ve learned from it and we’re putting in measures in place to better protect life and property from future flooding. I know this is a priority in Fort McMurray. These grants will allow work to start very soon.”
The anti-flood grant for Fort MacMurray will allow the region to provide flood protection and repair dikes, raised waterways, and floodwalls. In 2013 a state of emergency was declared in Fort MacMurray because of summer flooding, and the flood waters damaged Keyano College, a trailer park, and roughly 30 homes in the affected area. Fort MacMurray is an area with unique circumstances, and flood mitigation is a high priority in the area. Fawcett explained “The best thing you can do when it comes to flooding is prevent having infrastructure and people in the way of a floodway. But because of historical building patterns, it isn’t always possible.” Mayor Melissa Blake said “Some of the flood stories that you’ll hear from 1997 and the era before that will tell you it is incredibly important. Even if we don’t allow another building in the downtown, we still have all this historical development that is at peril if that happens to occur again.”