Flood-eroded hamlet asked for riverbank help in 2008

People in danger of losing their homes after flood waters eroded parts of Lac des Arcs last month say they've been asking the province to help reinforce the riverbank for years.

The swollen Bow River washed away huge chunks of land in the hamlet 90 kilometres west of Calgary, leaving several homes perched precariously next to the water.

The Municipal District of Bighorn asked the provincial and federal governments for money to stabilize the riverbank in 2008, but no funding was provided.

"It's disappointing. That's the only way I can put it. It's disappointing," said Martin Buckley, chief administrative officer for the M.D.

The retirement house that Bob McGinn and his wife have been working on for 13 years now dangles over the Bows south bank.

"I couldn't believe that 11 to 15 metres of bank disappeared in 24 hours," he said.

"Unless the decision is made to do some bank stabilization, reclamation, the house probably cant be saved."

Residents of Lac des Arcs will start meeting with government officials this week.