Cochranites could be catching some waves along the Bow River in the next few years. 

The Cochrane Tourism Association's Executive Director Jo-Anne Oucharek says they've been researching river surfing on the Bow River in Cochrane for the past two-years. She says the river is a draw to our town that is not utilized to its full potential.

She says "The river is an asset in Cochrane and we don't use it. We have one place where you can put your boats in but you can't come back. I've tried, I kayak on the river and you can't come back."

Neil Egsgard, President and Wave Builder with Surf Anywhere says they've found the perfect spot to build the wave, right next to the old bridge near the off-leash dog park.

He says "Right at the bridge, the area that we're talking about the old iron bridge there, there's an island in the middle. So one side stays completely natural and the other side you build a wave structure towards the bottom. It raises the water level upstream so you take that entire stretch that right now is a rapid and is going at a reasonable pace becomes flat water upstream and then all of that drop in river height happens in one spot so the water goes down very quickly and it's shaped up into a very beautiful recreational wave."

Egsgard says this could be huge for Cochrane.

He says "So what's happening now is people have realized that you can build these things consistently. The technology is really, really proven and they're being built all over the world. It creates a big economic benefit for the area, a big cultural benefit because you're creating this hub that people come in and both use the wave and use the river and connect to nature and it brings all the spectators and everyone else into the area."

The wave would be about one metre high and about ten to 20 metres wide. 

Egsgard says a project like this costs anywhere from $2-10 million dollars and generates approximately $3-6 million in revenue every year.

The wave can be used year-round. Egsgard says there are river surfers who surf all-year round. He says technology for surfing gear has come a long way making it easier for surfers to brave the elements in the colder months. 

Oucharek says other areas have seen a huge boost to their economy once a river wave is built in their community.

She says "The Bend, Oregon wave, the economic impact from that wave is about $2.3 million a year. That is from people who come to surf the wave spending an average of $60 a day because they'll stay, they'll eat, they'll stay overnight and come back to the wave in the morning."

Oucharek says if everything goes well she is hoping the wave could be built and ready to surf on in three to five years.

They are doing the feasibility study right now. Once they have the feasibility study done then they can move forward with funding and have the conceptual drawings made up. They will approach investors and she says there have already been people who have shown an interest in potentially investing. 

Oucharek says they will also apply for government grants to help with funding the project.