Just like in the opening scenes in the movie ‘The Wizard of Oz’, a house appeared on a lot in Chestermere where it had not been just hours before. Ok…. so it wasn’t at the hand of a tornado, but rather a highly skilled team from McCann’s Building Movers after it was discovered, in August 2012, that the twelve year old house had been built on top of an abandoned exploratory well.
When the home, located at 102 Invermere Drive, was built in 2002, Westmere Developments was unaware that the well existed. However, in September 2012, new regulations from the Alberta Energy Regulator (ERCB at the time) emerged which now required structures to be set back five meters from a well. Also, there were amendments made to the Subdivision and Development Regulations under the Ministry of Municipal Affairs in November 1, 2012 as a result of the new regulations made by the AER. The combination of those two things led to the question “what now?”
Westmere Communities and Melcor Developments took a look back at the history of this well and it was determined that the well was drilled as an exploratory well in 1979 and was found to be a ‘dry’ – meaning it did not contain gas or oil that could be produced and brought to market. The well was immediately abandoned and the land reclaimed in accordance with Alberta Energy Regulator. As per the new regulations (Directive 79), the well has been tested (twice) and is found to be safe.
However, when all this came to light, the house was occupied. Westmere Communities purchased the home from the then owners and worked with them to relocate them to another part of the community.
In June of this year, Westmere Communities held an open house whereby residents along Invermere Drive, between Oakmere Close and Chestermere Boulevard, as well as the South West half of Oakmere Close and Oakmere Place. The purpose of this open house was to be a platform where the residents in the immediate area of the house could get information and ask questions. Melcor representatives were on hand and also a representative from Talisman Energy Inc., as they are the ones responsible for the well. Approximately 52 houses were invited to attend the open house….however, only one resident attended.
The next few months were spent planning and getting permits to proceed with the enormous task of moving the house. The original plan was to relocate the structure in mid-August…however, as this was a tremendous undertaking, the move did not actually occur until September 29, 2014. Although the Town of Chestermere was involved in the process by way of permits, coordination of the move and the aftermath of the current location of the house, Westmere Communities covered the cost of moving the house move and the landscaping of the park that will be done before turning it over to the Town of Chestermere.
It was decided that once the house is moved and Talisman Energy Inc. has completed all testing of the well, the land will be donated back to the Town of Chestermere where a “pocket park”, made up of shrubs, trees, and a walkway, will be constructed…..with no evidence that a well, or house, was ever there.
In the early morning hours of September 30th, a crew from McCann’s Building Movers, representatives from Melcor Developments and the help of the Chestermere RCMP, the home that had sat at 102 Invermere Drive for 10 years was raised, placed on wheels, hooked to a truck and towed through the streets of Chestermere. Within four plus hours, the home was removed from one location, safely manoeuvered through town and placed carefully on its new resting place at the very end of Marina Drive. It was confirmed that the move went very smoothly and work has now started on the removal of the foundation at the site where the house was so that plans can move ahead for the building of the park.
With a discovery like this, it raises the question of if there are other abandon wells in the Town of Chestermere and how can residents rest assured that another well hasn’t been missed under other houses in the area? It was confirmed that there are two other abandoned wells located within municipal boundaries. These wells are located in a farmer’s field and on an acreage, and both are well beyond the required five meter set back. Alberta Energy Resources has a website where the public can view the location of any abandoned wells in the area. The site is http://mapview.ercb.ca/AbandonedWells/.
