Erosion Sediment Control at Mill Creek Expansion
Client:
Qualico Communities
Project:
ESC at Mill Creek Expansion
Date:
December 2022 – May 2023
ESC Reporting:
2 Years
Inspections By:
City of Edmonton, EPCOR
Erosion Sediment Control
at Mill Creek Expansion
As Edmonton expands, there are increased calls to upgrade city infrastructure in older communities. With the fast-paced development of the Meadows and Tamarack neighbourhoods, the existing storm system was in significant need of improvement. After ten years of discussion, the storm system upgrades were approved in three major nodes in the Southeast quadrant of Edmonton. In support of the City of Edmonton and EPCOR, our crews were dispatched to complete erosion sediment controls at the Mill Creek Expansion.
The Challenge
To accommodate community development programs, the need to address the storm system became a high priority for the City of Edmonton as it had previously been diverted via pumps for three storm ponds. Should the pumps fail, EPCOR and the City of Edmonton are liable for flooding that may put residents in the area at risk.
Qualico Communities requested that erosion and sediment control measures be implemented for the Southeast Edmonton’s Meadows district, which included an increase in the depth and width of the Mill Creek Ravine over a distance of 1.25 km. Our crews were on-site once the creek grading was completed. The ECS installation aimed to protect the creek from any sediment erosion entering the creek, thereby preventing any damage and protecting the sensitive ecosystems downstream. Spanning multiple seasons, teams faced the challenge of frozen ground conditions and limited spring access for repairs.
The Solution
To accommodate the frozen ground conditions in the winter months, our crews maintained a light schedule behind the grading operation to ensure the ground conditions didn’t have time to freeze. All materials for the ECS installation were pre-ordered in December 2022 and on hand for our crews, waiting on standby to meet our weekly deadlines. Our project managers created the schedule with the grading contractor to map out deadlines and next steps.
Once grading was completed, we installed erosion matting to protect the creek bottom and side slopes, straw wattle along the slopes to prevent sediment movement, and Georidge check dams to slow water flow downstream. We took extra precautions during the initial installation to minimize the need for repairs during the spring thaw to ensure it was done correctly the first time — the ECS measures required only minor maintenance in the spring with minimal sediment shifting in the creek. Through May and June of 2023, we worked to control and divert stormwater from three storm ponds to allow the creek work to be constructed.
The Results
Thanks to our crew’s meticulous attention to detail and tight adherence to the installation schedule, we completed the project on time. The creek was fully functional for the heavy flow during the summer months, allowing the interim storm ponds to be fully released into the creek. The City of Edmonton and EPCOR have established a two-year weekly reporting system to address any future leaks impacting the Meadows and community of Tamarack.
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