'Daylighting' Mill Creek estimated to cost at least $10M

The city wants to move ahead with plans to resurrectMill Creek, buta new course for the ravine will have to be charted andthe project's cash-flow concernssolvedbefore work can begin.

For years,the ravine flowedinto the North Saskatchewan River. Butin 1970it was diverted and pushed underground to make way for construction of a new freeway that was never built.

• City weighs options to 'daylight' Mill Creek

A large part of the brook now runs through a stretch of pipe, much like a sewer. But ravine advocates believethecreek should be brought back to the surfacethrough a process called daylightingwhen work on the LRT Valley line begins. Daylighting,in this case, meansuncoveringand exposing the creek todaylight.

"We have a unique opportunity to reconnect this ecosystem and fix something that we broke back in the 1970s," said Keepers of Mill Creek memberAdam Sweet during a Tuesdayinterview on CBC radio'sEdmonton AM.

"The Valley LRT line will come along west of Muttart Conservatory and then up Connors Road," Sweet said. "That's where the original creek bed was. So this is an opportunity . . .for us to kill two birds with one stone."

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An administration report put before city councilduring Tuesday's executive committee meetingsuggestsrestoring the creek bed will be expensive.Project costs have previously been pegged at more than $10 million. Researching the best location for restoration is expected to cost $400,000.

Administration expects$3 million in provincial and federal funding will be made available forrestoration work, but funding isn't available forthe feasibility study.The city will need to rely on outside grants and fundraising from community groups, such asKeepers ofMill Creek, to make the project happen.

The council committee directed city staff onTuesday to come back with a $250,000 feasibility studyfor the downstream portion of Mill Creek that stretches from Connors Road downto the North Saskatchewan River. City council needs to give approval before that can go ahead.

"This will give them the necessary information about whether or not to go forward with daylightingMill Creek at this time.We're looking forward to councilapprovingthis study so we can make an informed decision," Sweet said.