Cochrane Lake is a provincially owned natural wetland/lake located north of the Town of Cochrane in Rocky View County and serves as a drainage catchment for more than 1,400 hectares of surrounding lands. The wetland/lake is a critical stormwater management feature supporting both existing communities and future planned development within the Cochrane Lake area.
The Cochrane Lake Improvement Plan is a comprehensive infrastructure project intended to address historic and ongoing challenges related to flooding, water quality, and odour, while improving stormwater management capacity and delivering a regional recreational amenity. The project focuses on increasing lake resilience to climate variability, improving operational control of lake levels, and enhancing environmental conditions through improved water circulation.
Key elements of the project include construction of a new raw water inlet to convey fresh water from the Bow River to Cochrane Lake under an existing, approved water licence, upgrades to the existing discharge pump station to increase the approved outflow to Horse Creek, and management of the lake’s normal water level to expand available storage capacity. The project also includes construction of a paved multi-use pathway around the lake, which will provide a recreational amenity and define the future high-water boundary.
Cochrane Lake is a natural kettle lake/wetland with no natural inlet or outlet, a condition that
has contributed to fluctuating lake levels, limited circulation, poor water quality, and recurring odour concerns, including historic health advisories. In 2013, severe rainfall events resulted in localized flooding within the hamlet.
While flooding has not occurred since that time, water quality concerns persist. In 2016, Rocky View County constructed a pump station and outlet pipeline discharging to Horse Creek to assist with managing lake levels and removing nutrient-laden water. In 2022, Alberta Environment and Protected Areas approved an increased discharge rate to further improve lake management.
