Community Meeting – Drainage Issues in the Lakeview Park area

AGENDA

Opening statements Councillor Kavanagh and CBLCA President Kevin Brewer

 City Staff will make presentation.

• The City is developing a city-wide ditch strategy due at the end 2020 that will include standards and guides for the maintenance of ditches.
• The City recognizes that there is an issue – What has happened over time in this area
• Drainage improvement at Lakeview Park was done in 2015.
• The City currently enforces by-law infractions for infill or culvert blockage on a case by case basis if it impacts neighbour’s lot.

Causes of drainage Issues:

• High driveway culverts
• Lack of maintenance and ditch infill
• Not a lot of flow in this area
  • Show map of digital elevation models for the area.
• Clay earth slows absorption of water
• Lawns may need to be regraded
• Sump pump not efficient or sump pump outlet not clearing water properly
• Residents don’t want to (or can’t) pay to fix their culvert or regrade their lawns

How to avoid issues:

• Keep culverts and ditches clear
• Sump pumps
  • Sump pumps must have an outlet that leads away from the home, ideally to the ditch
  • Is the right sump pump being used? (City recommendations / minimum requirements for sump pumps)
  • Groundwater is very high in the neighbourhood making sump pumps necessary
• Proper grading of lawns.

Discuss private approach agreement and how to determine who is responsible:

Examples of situation where the resident is responsible

• When the ditches are functioning, but water is being stopped by a collapsed culvert.
• For accumulated grit from road and leaves

Example of situation where the City is responsible

• If the city determines that the ditch must drop a grade, then the city would replace the culverts and reset the ditches.

Mitigation options that can be discussed with the community:

• Have stormwater sewers installed – there are about 200 properties. (Note: Ditches promote groundwater absorption)
• Re-instate ditches
  • Cost $1M to $1.5M to be shared by residents
• If reinstated some ditches will be very deep and more difficult to maintain.
• Enforce by-law on property owners with ditch infill – Normally done on a case by case basis
• High driveway culverts need to be fixed to allow flow (however, only fixing these could cause problems down the line)

Q & A with Community

Closing