Why did the Alberta Government proceed with River Diversion?
• In 1995 the Sheep River overflowed its banks and there was a shift in the river channel closer to the site. The river eroded the riverbanks of the site exposing vessels, piping and structures that posed a hazard to river users. Erosion also threatened to release contaminants into the water and to destroy the historic resources. To resolve these problems Alberta Infrastructure and Alberta Culture and Community Spirit developed a proposal to re-channel the river back to its pre-1995 course. An additional benefit of re-channelling the river is that it would provide some additional space in which to construct a permanent containment system • Alberta Infrastructure completed a river channel survey and a fish habitat study prior to finalizing the re-channelling design. • The re-channelling design received approval from Environment and work was completed prior to the 2004 spring runoff. What has river water monitoring shown? River Water testing conducted in the spring of 2003 and 2004 by a
