Although the community of Lehigh doesn’t exist anymore, it is still a very important area when it comes to the flood mitigation project in the Town of Drumheller.
At the Drumheller Town Council meeting on Tuesday, December 2nd, a request for decision was presented to council on revegetation within the Drumheller Valley to compensate the loss of fish habitat caused by the removal of existing riparian vegetation and the placement of in-stream bank erosion protection, such as riprap. To compensate for the loss of habitat in the Rosedale and Nacmine areas, roughly 13 hectares of riparian land along and adjacent to the Red Deer River in Lehigh will be reestablished and revegetated with trees and shrubs. The project also includes the removal of the roads in Lehigh and revegetation of the land, to the total of 18 hectares.
Three tenders for the work came back with the one recommended by Administration and GroundCubed, the landscape architect for the project, from Wilco Contractors Southwest Inc, to the tune of just over $787,000, excluding GST. It is anticipated that the majority of the restoration and vegetation planting will take place in the spring of 2026, and the anticipated completion date is to be July 31, 2026. Wilco will also maintain the vegetation for 2 years.
In the presentation, it was also mentioned that the latest update in the budget has projected a final cost of the flood mitigation project of $83,928,000, which is just under the total project budget of $84,449,500.
Council awarded the tender to Wilco in the amount of $787,755, excluding GST.
Comments