Lesser Slave River News

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MD Submits Application for Federal Flood Mitigation Dollars

Marten Beach project shows considerable merit as gauged by funding parameters.


The MD is pleased to report that it has completed its application for flood mitigation funding under the Government of Canada’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) grant. With ever-dwindling provincial dollars available for such initiatives, the MD has identified the federal DMAF program as a potential source of grant funding for the “Room for the River” flood mitigation project in Marten Beach. If the application is successful, the DMAF grant is anticipated to cover 40% of the total capital project cost.

Please visit mdlsr.ca/marten-beach for background information and documentation related to this project.

To assist with this particular grant application, the MD worked in collaboration with Associated Engineering and Nicholls Applied Management. These two firms have been part of the Marten Beach flood mitigation project since its inception, and they provide the niche engineering, environmental and economic consulting expertise required for a grant application of this scale and complexity. The completed application was roughly 250 pages in length.

“We have engaged two of the best firms in the business to help us prepare an exhaustive, compelling and data-driven case for Marten Beach infrastructure funding,” shared MD Chief Administrative Officer Barry Kolenosky. “Our submission is precise, data-driven, and in perfect alignment with the stringent parameters of the federal DMAF program.”

One component of the DMAF application is a return-on-investment (ROI) calculation for the given project. As a rule, projects must show an ROI calculation of at least 2.0 before they would be considered for DMAF review. By contrast, the MD’s Marten Beach project received an ROI calculation of 5.8. While this number is not an absolute guarantee of the application's success, it is a very good indicator that the Marten Beach project has considerable merit as gauged by the federal funding program.

The MD’s Marten Beach application was submitted May 30, 2023 — at least two months ahead of schedule, and well in advance of the DMAF application deadline. A response to this application is not anticipated for several months; however, the MD will share any and all developments via the dedicated Marten Beach Flood Mitigation section of the MD website: mdlsr.ca/marten-beach.

The MD remains committed to reducing the flood disaster risk in Marten Beach. Affected citizens or associations wishing to bolster the MD’s ongoing lobbying efforts in support of the flood mitigation project are encouraged to write to the Honourable Nathan Neudorf, Deputy Premier and Minister of Infrastructure, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., and the Honourable Rebecca Schulz, Minister of Municipal Affairs, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Marten Beach Background

Since previous floods over the years have affected the Marten Beach area and its residents and recreational users, Council (with the assistance of a specialized team of engineering, financial, environmental and social analysis experts) have undertaken an extensive study on the Marten Beach Area in consideration of potential risk mitigation strategies. At Council’s direction, Administration has begun work on a four-stage area flood mitigation plan referred to as option 5C (Room for the River – whole channel narrowed). A team of internal employees have been working with Associated Engineering to develop this plan.

This plan has an estimated capital cost of $14 million in today’s dollars. Since determining this direction in October 2022, the MD has been working on ways to fund the project. Securing a direct source of Provincial funding for the Marten Beach flood mitigation is unlikely, as the Province no longer offers grant funding for undertakings such as this. However, thanks in large part to Council’s lobbying and relationship-building efforts, provincial counterparts are still at the table. They continue to provide Administration with factual responses and sources of information (and often hard truths), and they remain committed to finding creative solutions and alternate avenues of funding.

The MD has since applied for the Government of Canada’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund (DMAF) grant. If the application is successful, the DMAF grant will cover 40% of the total capital project cost; a scenario that leaves the MD with a $8.4 million capital expenditure. Provided that the MD receives DMAF grant funding, the expectation is that the remainder of the project will be cost-shared between the MD, the Province, and Marten Beach landowners.


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Main Office: Box 722 - 3000, 15th Ave SE, Slave Lake, AB
T:780.849.4888  F:1.866.449.4888
Sub-office: 660061 Range Road 20, Flatbush, AB
T:780.681.3929  F:1.866.681.3929

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