Cochrane Lake
Revitalization Plan
About the Lake
Cochrane Lake is a public recreational area. The future potential of this amenity will be fully realized with the input from and collaboration with those who live there and know and understand its history. This shared knowledge is paramount in developing the finest overall plan for the area. We will all benefit from an improved lake, and no one knows better the potential of this lake than those who already live here. With the long-standing relationships with our technical experts, along with resident input, we are confident that the future of Cochrane Lake will be one that will be enjoyed for generations.
Flooding
The lake is without a natural outlet which means water levels rise and fall with precipitation and stormwater runoff. The current state makes the lake susceptible to flooding (as occurred in 2013).
The County has installed an emergency pumping station to bring water out of the lake to prevent flooding, which unfortunately has the side effect of leaving the lake water low, unsightly, and more susceptible to algae growth.
Water Quality
Cochrane Lake is currently designated as hazardous to health due to the prolific algae growth. The current water quality does not allow for any type of recreational opportunities in or near the water as there is currently no natural circulation of water out of the lake.
Lake Improvement Project
Macdonald Communities Limited (“MCL”) purchased the land around Cochrane Lake in 2016 and has been working with Rocky View County since that time to work on the plans to improve the lake.
Now we are looking to work with the community to make substantial improvements to the lake for the benefit of everyone in the Cochrane Region.
MCL has worked with Rocky View County and water quality and civil engineers over the last several years to develop a plan to improve the lake quality. By utilizing existing pumping infrastructure and constructing berms around the lake the water level can be raised and the Lake water circulated. This would result in a stable lake level.
Utilizing the County’s recently purchased Horse Creek water utility, a fresh water supply can be pumped from the Bow River to Cochrane Lake, allowing a consistent water level to be met throughout periods of heat or low precipitation. The infusion of fresh water will also assist in decreasing blooms of algae growth. The recently installed pumping station at the south end of the Lake can also drain excess water, directing it to Horse Creek providing the ability to stabilize lake levels when the water is too high.
Pathway Typology Location Diagram
By building berms around the lake where the slope is slack, the freeboard (volume allowed for large rainfall events) will not result in unsightly coastline erosion.
Download Plans
Pathway Typology Location Diagram
About the Developer
Macdonald Communities is proud of its long history of environmental remediation and protection. Since 1985, the Macdonald group of companies has created a legacy of residential and commercial properties across North America. Locally, MCL is responsible for Swift Creek Estates in Springbank and the award-winning community of Watermark at Bearspaw.
Past Revitalization Projects
The Britannia Beach mine (located approximately 25 km north of Vancouver, BC) had once been the largest copper mine in the world and had been, since the mid-1980s when it shut down, polluting approximately three tonnes of copper per day into Britannia Creek and Howe Sound destroying the adjacent marine ecosystem.
Macdonald acquired the entire 10,000 acres of property and donated 95 percent of it (constituting 100 miles of shafts and tunnels, and all the mine workings) to the Government of BC. Working with government-appointed environmental engineers, a sophisticated water treatment plant was constructed to filter all the copper out of the contaminated water. As part of this work, Macdonald constructed a 200 lot subdivision which included roads and bridges that provided access to the filtration plant site. In addition, Macdonald donated profits from the subdivision towards the cost of filtration plant construction.
Once the treatment plant was opened in 2006, the copper leaching into Howe Sound was reduced by 99.9 percent. The marine environment around the mine has been fully restored, and for the first time in nearly 100 years, salmon returned to Britannia Creek in 2011.