COLD LAKE – An extra $70,000 is being added to the Thomas Varughese Field Drainage Improvement project to help fix ongoing drainage issues that have delayed spring openings and increased maintenance.
The funding, approved by Cold Lake City Council at its July 8 regular meeting, will come from the City’s unrestricted surplus.
The extra money will help implement a detailed remediation plan designed to fix long-standing drainage issues at the sports field, which was first constructed in 2018. Administration said the drainage system has become increasingly difficult to maintain, particularly in the winter and spring, according to information from the City of Cold Lake.
CAO Kevin Nagoya explained that berms surrounding the artificial turf field and a gravel drainage system underneath were designed to direct water toward a small lift station located at the low end, on the south side of the field.
“At the Thomas Ferguson Field, there was a budget in order to make some changes for the stormwater pump out,” Nagoya said. “This is just to change some of the drainage patterns because we're finding winter freeze up and bringing the systems back online in the spring is problematic… so it delays the opening to some degree if we're having a quite a bit of melt.”
The new plan includes regrading the sediment bay, improving slope and outlet conditions, and installing a 45-metre storm sewer to improve flow directly to a nearby stormwater pond.
“This will assist with regard to that and tie it directly into a storm system that's to the southwest close to the parking lot,” said Nagoya, noting that the lowest quote received for the project was $74,750, well above the original $20,000 budget.
Mayor Craig Copeland confirmed with administration that the drainage from the field flows west toward the stormwater management pond in front of the Energy Centre.
Council approved a resolution amending the 2025 Capital Budget to allocate $70,000 from the unrestricted surplus to the Varughese Field Drainage Improvement project, as recommended by administration.
