Water access concerns in Foothills County after home destroyed by fire

Residents successful Foothills County are expressing concerns implicit h2o entree successful their assemblage southwest of Calgary aft a location was engulfed successful flames Wednesday.

Crews were called to the location disconnected Highway 762 adjacent 242 Ave W successful Foothills County soon aft 4 o’clock; nary injuries were reported but the location is simply a implicit loss.

However, adjacent residents are convinced occurrence crews encountered issues erstwhile 4 engines travelled to a adjacent bulk capable presumption to replenish their h2o tanks with a precocious velocity pump.

That pump sits down a obstruction installed past year, according to Mary Anne Desmeules, who lives nearby.

“None of the firemen knew however to get done the gate, they didn’t person a key, they didn’t cognize however to entree the standpipe due to the fact that the obstruction is successful the way,” she told Global News.

Desmeules said it should lone instrumentality up to 5 minutes to capable a motortruck with the precocious velocity pump, but she said it was taking “20 minutes each” to refill with the bulk capable pump.

Desmeules showed Global News a September email from Foothills County main administrative serviceman Ryan Payne that stated the obstruction “does not origin a occupation for exigency services entree to the h2o root successful the lawsuit of a fire.”

In a statement, Foothills County occurrence main Russ Friesen said an capable and accordant h2o proviso was disposable to occurrence crews arsenic they worked to incorporate this occurrence and support surrounding properties.

But residents consciousness Wednesday’s occurrence is different illustration of the increasing concerns astir h2o entree successful the community, southbound of Bragg Creek.

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There are nary occurrence hydrants successful the area, and galore of the adjacent properties trust connected the bulk capable presumption oregon wells to gully their drinking water.

“There’s radical who are truly frightened and acrophobic that if thing did happen, that there’d beryllium nary mode of stopping the fire,” said Russell Walker, who besides lives nearby.

Walker and Desmeules are amongst a radical of residents who person formed a committee pushing for improved and much imperishable h2o infrastructure successful the area.

“We’re successful a drought situation,” Desmeules said. “Wells are going adust retired here, radical who had reliable h2o are acrophobic due to the fact that their wells are going dry.”

The radical is looking for the region to physique a h2o pipeline to work surrounding residents, aft a 2018 survey into a much imperishable strategy each the mode to Priddis.

Walker told Global News the estimated costs per nonmigratory person risen since 2018, contempt the radical uncovering an engineering institution that claims it could conscionable the assemblage needs, with occurrence hydrants, astatine a cheaper price.

“We privation the water, we conscionable don’t privation to wage an exponential magnitude for it erstwhile there’s different radical successful the region that are paying acold little for it,” Walker said. “We conscionable privation a feasible plan.”

The radical plans to conscionable with Banff-Kananaskis NDP MLA Sarah Elmeligi successful the coming weeks, successful the hopes of furthering conversations astir h2o infrastructure successful the community.