http://www.princegeorgecitizen.com/news/local-news/riverside-land-owners-seek-erosion-prevention-investment-1.1819818Work is about to begin on a long-awaited $1.41-million effort to prevent further loss of land behind Creekside Way in the Fraser Bench Land.
A large portion of the storm water collected in lower College Heights drains into the Fraser River via a greenbelt adjacent to the street.
The subsequent erosion has left a tangle of toppled trees and a deep ravine. And it's eaten away enough land to put a nearby trail in jeopardy.
If nothing is done, it could put homes backing onto the greenbelt into peril, city transportation engineering supervisor Chris Vliegenthart said Monday during a tour of the site with local media.
"It got to a critical point where it got to the highly-erodable gravel soils and there's nothing really holding it back after that," Vliegenthart said.
Tree removal will begin this Monday and installation of a storm water management system could start as soon as this May, at take about three month's to complete. A large-diametre pipe will be put inplace to convey water to an outfall at the Fraser River and the area around the ravine will be graded to provide slope stability. That work will involve removal of about 18,000 cubic metres of soil.
"It's going to capture the water and bypass the highly-erodable soils and it will restabilize this by cutting the slope back and vegetating it," Vliegenthart said.
Each of the federal and provincial governments are contributing one-third to the cost of the project while the city covers the remaining third, or about $470,000 for the local taxpayer. Design work began in 2012 and the funding was secured in July 2015.
The city is asking the public to stay away from the area while work is underway.
It's not the only trouble spot in the city when it comes to erosion.
About this time last year, a delegation representing 160 homes Lansdowne Road between Wiens and Pierreory made a presentation to city council regarding erosion along the riverbank.
The cost of remediating the site - from survey to revegetation - is about $1.6 million, a consultant has estimated and would involve creation of a local area service, which sees homeowners pay for the work over time through an addition to their property taxes.
As a result, residents asked the city to keep an eye out for any grants that could be secured to help defray the cost, city spokesman Mike Kellett said Monday.
"When a potential funding opportunity arises, the city will apply on behalf of the area residents," Kellett said.
