A plan is now in place for the bank erosion on Cutbanks and Old Ferry Road

By Serena Lapointe

The topic of road erosion has been a continuing one for Woodlands County Council, especially

since the 2023 floods, when the McLeod River burst its banks, exacerbating an already

damaged area along Cutbanks Road and Old Ferry Road. On July 16, Jeff Zang, Director of

Infrastructure, provided an update to Woodlands County Council.

Speaking to Cutbanks Road, Zang said floodplain information was not part of the consultant’s

report they received in June 2024, a report they used to plan a potential road

restoration/realignment project. However, when staff superimposed the proposed road

restoration project onto the floodplain information map, they realized there was a problem. “The

proposed alignment would actually be within the floodway and flood fringes. This got us thinking

that replacing a road that’s currently in the floodplain back to a location in the floodplain and

flood fringes isn’t necessarily making a lot of sense,” explained Zang.

A floodplain is a mainly flat area of land beside a river where floodwater regularly spills onto it.

It’s the first place water will go if a river is inundated with excess water. A flood fringe is the

outer portion of a floodplain, the secondary location for flooding to reach, depending on how

high a river swells. Finally, a floodway is a designated channel for floodwaters to flow through,

whether made naturally through regular erosion or engineered for flood management.

In the diagram provided in the Council package, the current portion of Cutbanks Road leading to

the tubing drop off along the McLeod River is entirely in the floodway, from the bottom of the hill,

just past the old greenhouses, to the dead end. The proposed road, which was to be a straight

shot across the field (bypassing the two tight turns) and connecting to the base of Range Road

123, would have been in the floodway for part of it, near the swamp, and within the flood fringe

for the remainder.

The damage caused to Cutbanks Road was identified under the province’s 2023 Disaster

Recovery Program (DRP), which the County applied to for funding. At first, as stated in the

agenda package, it was believed the province would contribute fully to realigning the roadway,

as the cost to restore the eroded slopes was greater than a realignment would be.

However, funding from the DRP is not given until a project is completed, putting the risk on

Woodlands County of completing a project without a guarantee of funding to help recover some

of the cost of doing the work. “We were able to work with the province to encourage them to

come to a determination before we proceed. Otherwise, it’s a pretty hefty decision that the

County has to bear if the province doesn’t come through,” said Zang.

In December, the province indicated the damage along Cutbanks Road already existed prior to

the 2023 flood, citing satellite images comparing 2021 and 2024, which showed preexisting

damage along the riverbank. Zang said they contacted other County staff and confirmed that

damages had occurred prior to 2023, but that the top-bank width retraction was from the 2023

floods. “The province tried to argue that because of the damages prior to 2023, they are not

funding any repairs, but we were able to come out with our rebuttal and, subsequently, the

province agreed with our assertion that 100 percent of the width erosion should be eligible,”

explained Zang.

Woodlands County submitted a project proposal for 1.6 million, representing 310 metres of

riverbank restored to a pre-disaster functional state. Of the 310m, the province determined

140m was eligible. For Old Ferry Road, the process was both different and the same. Although

the province didn’t try to assert that all of the damage there was caused previously, it did pull

back on the requested amount.

Woodlands County had come up with fifteen options for everything from road realignment to

riverbank restoration for Old Ferry Road. The options were sent to the province, and in June,

the province determined that the same riprap installation as Cutbanks Road would be eligible,

based on 90m of bank damage.

Zang said that even though the amounts were less than what was asked for, it would still be a

significant improvement from the current condition. “It is best for us to take the benefit of DRP

funding when it is available to us,” he said. The portion the County pays on the eligible work

under the DRP is 10 percent, with the province covering the remaining 90 percent. Zang added

that to be eligible under the program, the bank work on both roads needs to be completed by

November 2026.

The plans for Old Ferry Road prior to this were to create gravel turnarounds, just off the

intersection of Township Road 593A, close the road in between them, removing the loop portion,

rather than realigning the road, as realignment alternatives lacked public support. Councillor

John Burrows asked if that plan was still a go or if the dollars set aside for it could be used to

add more riprap.

“The gravel turnarounds are still necessary. The reason being, with the ninety-meter protection,

you’re only protecting a portion (of the bank), so in the future after we build this, the water can

still circumvent and go behind the riprap or if it’s a larger event, more than the 1 in 38-year

return, it may still wash all the bank protection riprap away. In my mind, the gravel turnarounds

are cheap insurance that I still think is necessary,” answered Zang.

The lifespan of both projects was estimated to be ten years, for the amounts the County

requested, not the amounts determined eligible by the province. If flood activity isn’t as

tumultuous as it was in 2023 (considered a 1:38-year flood), the lifespan could last longer than

that. Woodlands County Council approved the change of scope for both projects, within the

limitations of the DRP funding. Engineering will now be sought as well as environmental

permits, with work expected to start early next year.