$3.4M Mark Creek Flume completion underway in Kimberley

The second phase of the Mark Creek Flood Mitigation and Redevelopment project will last until the fall.

The completion of the second phase of the Mark Creek Flood Mitigation and Redevelopment Project is slated to be finished by the fall. — Photo courtesy Kootenay Business

The City of Kimberley has announced that the second phase of the Mark Creek Flood Mitigation and Redevelopment project will proceed in 2015.  The completion of the Mark Creek project will improve public health and safety for Kimberley’s residents, and will naturalize Mark Creek to improve habitat for aquatic life.  Construction upstream of the first phase will begin within the next few weeks and will last until the Fall.

The contract for construction has been awarded to Copcan Civil Ltd. (Copcan), who gained valuable experience building the first phase of the project.  After initial tenders were rejected by Council on May 19th for being in excess of available project funding, Copcan approached the City and negotiated a reduced price for the work.  On June 4th, Council accepted a revised price of $2,882,560 from Copcan, a $328,537 reduction from their original tender price.  The City has also contracted Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting Ltd. $190,748.60 for engineering services related to the project.

The planned expenditures for the remainder of the project is $3,374,050. In May of 2014, the City secured $2,068,582 in provincial and federal funding through the Flood Protection Program to complete the project, matching the City’s one-third contribution of $1,034,291.

When the initial bids were not within budget, City staff contacted the granting agency to inquire about reducing the scope of the project or requesting an extension to the timelines.  “A significant reduction in the project scope was not acceptable to the grantors, and delaying the project may have put the grant in jeopardy”, stated CAO Scott Sommerville.

The project will involve building a new channel to reduce water velocities and to meet federal guidelines for once in 200-year flood levels.  Two U-shaped weirs and 6 root wads and rock clusters will be added to rehabilitate fish habitat as required by the Province.  The creek will be diverted while construction takes place.   Deer Park water and sewer mains will be replaced, and electrical, telephone, and cable utilities will be rerouted.

The contract with Copcan is a combination of fixed and unit pricing.  The unit pricing is based on removal of the existing flume, excavation, stackable rock, rip rap, cobbles, boulders, habitat features, and concrete works.  The actual amount of units of material required may result in cost savings or overages.  “The risk associated with these components of the project is the same whether we go ahead this year or not,” stated Mayor Don McCormick.  “The experience gained in Phase 1 is an important factor in this decision and in the execution of Phase II.  I appreciate taxpayers will be skeptical until the project is completed.  We are taking hard lessons learned and applying rigorous project management to ensure we achieve the expected results, and plan to communicate all aspects of the project as we progress.”