Dave Kjorven has been keeping busy.

Kjorven is a project officer for Jasper National Park, meaning that he oversees the work being done on infrastructure in different areas, guiding projects from conception to completion. Sometimes, this means extensive involvement in a major, multi-year development like the reconstruction of the Athabasca Falls viewpoint and picnic areas. It can also mean supervising some pretty straightforward work that barely registers in terms of budget and time, but these projects are an important part of the infrastructure puzzle just the same.

The recent replacement of vehicle stops in the parking lots at Maligne Lake is an example of work like this. Parks has replaced the rotting, unsightly wood beams that were on the lot with new concrete blocks, and lines will be repainted shortly.

“It’s something that people give us all sorts of compliments about,” Kjorven said. “It’s right there, as soon as you leave your car.”

Not every project is quite so obvious. Take the upgrades to the water and sewer systems for the Wapiti and Whistlers campgrounds. Most of the $4.2 million project will be buried under pavement and dirt, but it’s absolutely essential to the operation of the facilities above. In other words, out of sight is sometimes important to keep in mind when considering what Parks is doing with infrastructure improvements.

Deciding which projects are top priority involves striking a balance between what locals and visitors alike want to see, and what work has to be done, according to engineering and health/safety screening reports, said Liz Baker, the asset manager for the Jasper field unit.

“That reporting gives us the basis for the funding we receive from the government. The major infrastructure funding comes from the budget, and asset managers around the country identify priorities... water and sewer, for example. Then we identify projects that are priorities in each region.”

Funding for built infrastructure in Jasper National Park is on the rise, from $1.4 million in 2004 to an estimated $4.3 million in 2007. More money will be on the way thanks to an arrangement to permanently increase the overall agency budget by $75 million by 2010. That’s the good news. The bad news is that with built infrastructure assets valued at $316 million, Baker estimates that at least $6.3 million is required every year just to maintain the thousands of campsites, hundreds of buildings and dozens of water sites.

Maintaining doesn’t necessarily mean improving, and an estimated 80 per cent of Jasper’s built assets are considered to be in fair to poor condition. The scope and scale of the task is nothing short of staggering.

“Even if the world was perfect, it would still take thirty to forty years to fix everything,” Baker said. “But nothing is static either, everything continues to age.”

Infrastructure planning takes place in three to five year windows, with a further list of unfunded projects set for a longer-term time frame. Because many of the park’s assets are quite old, they are evaluated every year, with staff looking for debilitation and watching for potential safety hazards. Upgrading the above ground shower and toilet structures at the Wapiti and Whistlers campgrounds is one project on the unfunded list. Parks has to redevelop the lines in and around the campgrounds before proceeding, which is a substantial job.

“It’s like working on the water and sewer lines for the entire town of Jasper,” said Baker.

At present, the infrastructure funding that comes directly from the federal budget is allocated based on the amount of built assets in a given field unit, and where the most pressing needs exist. Under this system, Jasper National Park earned $6.8 million out of a total of $209 million allocated over five years for infrastructure across the parks system. Now, all field units in the western and northern region are undertaking an “asset data integrity” process, which will list all assets valued over $10,000. This is meant to improve planners’ understanding of where the infrastructure needs are.

Of course, cash can come from a variety of sources. The solar powered water purification system at Snaring Campground was funded out of a separate envelope, as is the improvement work being done as part of the Jasper Trails Project. The Athabasca Falls upgrade, meanwhile, is an example of parks fee increases going back into the system.

Innovation is another important way in which Jasper park staff are making ends meet. Baker cites the example of the sewage treatement system at the Miette Hot Springs. Rather than do a complete replacement of the facility at a cost of two to five million dollars, the water quality department installed a UV system, spending less than $100,000.

Next spring, a micro-hydro plant on the Miette River could go ahead, provided it passes through the environmental assessment process successfully. This demonstration project will be paid for by NewEnergy, a company Parks is partnering with. If the technology proves a success, micro-hydro could eventually be used to power the Sunwapta Warden Station, for example.

“Our staff have done an awesome job in maintaining what we have,” Baker said.

Any perception that a lack of needed funding is forcing Parks to abandon or decomission significant assets is totally unfounded, she added.

“If you look at the overall asset value, I’d say no, absolutely not.”

The largest single reduction in Parks built assets came in 2001, when the creation of the Municipality of Jasper caused the transfer of responsibility for $96 million in infrastructure, Baker said. By comparison, the 1,300 kilometres of trails in the park have an estimated total value of $30 million.

That said, decommissioning does happen from time to time.

“Every time you look at your infrastructure you have to look at its use,” said Dave Kjorven. “Does it need to be there,” he asked, saying the Portal Creek picnic area was torn down several years ago after usage had dropped off to nothing. The key thing for residents and visitors to be aware of is that as long as an asset serves an operational purpose or is being used, it will be maintained.

“Think about a place like Otto’s Cache [located on Highway 93A just before Meeting of the Waters] it’s not used by many people, but we won’t decommission that, we turned around and put a new privy in. It was a small improvement, but the asset continues to thrive,” he said.

In certain cases, the elimination of some infrastructure is offset by the creation of newer facilities nearby. This is happening at the Athabasca Falls picnic area, where an old shelter and paved area is to be removed and a newer one built closer to the falls.

“It’s an exciting time for infrastructure projects in the Mountain Parks bloc,” said Kjorven. “The Athabasca Falls project is just the beginning.”

Screening work has already been done for other highly visible projects that will keep Jasper National Parks staff busy right until the end of the decade. Having prioritized the Athabasca Falls redevelopment, which is earmarked for completion by the beginning of next summer, Parks Canada will move on to make improvements at Maligne Canyon and Sunwapta Falls in the years ahead.

“I’d guess that Maligne would be getting underway in 2008,” Kjorven said. “All the plans are done, and it will be a fairly substantial project.” Although Kjorven can’t estimate exactly how much the improvements may cost, he believes it will be slightly more expensive than the Athabasca Falls project, which is budgeted to cost approximately $1 million. Treadways and railings will be replaced throughout the canyon, and new steps installed in certain locations.

Once the Maligne Canyon update is completed, plans call for funding to be arranged for similar work at Sunwapta Falls. Given the smaller scale of this project, it’s likely to cost less than $1 million, Kjorven predicted, but he knows there’s no sure thing when it comes to advance budgeting.

“Our Athabasca Falls project is likely to cost about ten per cent more than expected, which on a million dollars is a fair amount.”

There’s plenty of information available to the public about what Parks has planned for infrastructure improvements.

“That’s what the planning forums are for,” said Baker. “People began to learn about the scope of what we have in the park. It began to set a context for them. We would encourage more people to attend the forums.”