A partnership involving Airdrie, Calgary, Crossfield and Rocky View County has just received a generous grant from the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation to support Phase Two of the Nose Creek Watershed Hydrologic, Hydraulic and Water Quality Model.  

The Nose Creek Watershed Partnership (NCWP) accepted a grant of $30,000 in support of the project.  The NCWP has undertaken joint watershed planning to address the concerns around the future condition of Nose Creek and West Nose Creek for more than 20 years.  The watershed is impacted by the cumulative efforts of increasing residential and commercial development, industrial growth, stormwater discharge, agricultural activity and stream channelization.

Clint Goodman who is the Corporate Environmental Specialist with the City of Airdrie as well as the Co-chair of the NCWP explained what the money will be earmarked for.

"As part of the Nose Creek Watershed water management plan in 2018, one of the priority recommendations was to develop a watershed scale model to better understand impact the watershed.  In 2019 the Nose Creek partnership initiated the Nose Creek Hydrologic, Hydraulic Water Quality Monitoring project and the intent for it is to be used by municipalities and other resource managers to better understand the current watershed conditions and predict potential future conditions based on growth in the region and climate change in the area."

Goodman says the model will also be used to evaluate potential tools, approaches and options to address stormwater impacts influences on flooding and water quality within the watershed.  Ultimately the model will be a valuable tool in providing to the partners when making decisions within the watershed.

Phase Two of the project is scheduled to be done sometime in 2022 after which time the evaluation phase of the model will take place.

In all the NCWP includes the cities of Airdrie and Calgary, Rocky View County, the Town of Crossfield, the Calgary Airport Authority and the Bow River Basin Council which oversees the implementation of the updated Nose Creek Watershed Water Management Plan.  

Since 1992 the Alberta Ecotrust Foundation has invested more than $8.3 million in projects that protect the natural systems that provide Alberta with life and prosperity.  

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