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Town of Innisfil looks at fixing a drainage problem 3 decades old (5 photos)

'It's a solution that's not going to resolve everything, but it's going to be better than it was'

Heavy rain on Jan. 11 caused extensive flooding in some parts of the Town of Innisfil – including Line 6, the Belle Ewart area, and Park Road, along the north edge of Innisfil Beach Park.

A Class Environmental Assessment was already underway for Park Road, looking at proposed drainage improvements for the area – improvements that can’t come fast enough for residents like Ken Baird.

Baird lives at 753 Park Road, where an ‘intermittent stream’ enters his property from the park, cutting between his house and carport, before emptying into the ditch on Park Road.

On Jan. 11, his house was completely surrounded by water.

Baird was one of the residents who came out for a Public Information Session at the Lakeshore Library on Jan. 22, to learn more about the study and the proposed solution.

The area is low-lying, and has always been prone to occasional flooding, but the situation worsened when a culvert was placed under 25 Sideroad, carrying run off from an estimate 34 hectares lying west of the Sideroad, back in 1989. At the time, homeowners were told that the additional runoff would be channelled into the main creek running through the park..

That never happened. Instead, overflowing ditches and flooding became a fact of life.

Retained by the town, KSGS Engineering is now proposing a solution to the issue of flooding: the creation of a new channel within Innisfil Beach Park, that will divert most of the flow coming from the west.

The new channel would be dug near the north boundary of the park, near Park Road, and stretch from the woodlot in the west, eastward behind the existing homes, to eventually connect with an existing creek channel that flows into Lake Simcoe.

The new channel would be approximately 7.3 metres wide, but relatively shallow in depth – acting as an intermittent stream to carry high flows away from the existing ditches and homes.

“It’s a solution that’s not going to resolve everything, but it’s going to be better than it was,” said Ken Chow, Project Manager with KSGS Engineering. He suggested that work could begin as early as this summer, “if we can get all the permits in place.”

Permits will be required from both the Town of Innisfil, and the Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority. If there are delays, the project won’t begin until in 2021, he said.

The plan also calls for replacement of damaged or buried culverts, and regrading of the existing road ditches. As stated at the Information Centre, “All properties affected by culvert replacements will have their driveways reinstated on the same day, to ensure no disruption to residents.”

There may be closures of parts of Park Road, and portions of Innisfil Beach Park, while the work is being done – and the proposal would necessitate the loss of one soccer field at the park.

Derek Wantuch, Development Engineering with the Town of Innisfil, called the new channel a swale, or even a “bowl” – but definitely not a “road ditch.”

“It’s a feature that looks almost like a natural feature of the park,” Wantuch said, but would be “mathematically sized for a 100-year flood.”

The trick, so close to the lake, is to maintain flow in the gently sloping channel. “We don’t want to create mosquito pools,” Wantuch noted.

The improvements won’t eliminate all of the water flowing into the Park Road ditches. “There should be water in the ditch. It shouldn’t be flooding every year,” Wantuch said. “We should minimize everything.”

Among those present at the session were Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin, and several members of council.

“If there are any problems, it’s on town land… It eases the burden on residents,” noted Coun. Ken Fowler, of the proposed channel.

“I like the idea,” said Coun. Donna Orsatti. She also suggested adding berms to further protect homeowners from flooding, and naturalizing the new, broad channel with vegetation, to create educational opportunities for park visitors.

Ward Coun. Alex Waters was supportive of the project, but asked if there was an alternative route for the channel, that would take the runoff south, behind the Lakeshore water treatment plant, and connect with the main creek channel in the park.

It was noted that the higher ground, between the inflow at 25 SR and the main creek, might make the route not feasible, as well as necessitating moving the tennis courts.

Coun. Bill Van Berkel, who resides in Belle Ewart, was happy to see the town moving forward with flood control measures.

Van Berkel was directly impacted by the flooding earlier this month. “People were knocking on the door, saying ‘We don’t have a place to stay’,” the councillor said. He ended up inviting residents into his home, while they were displaced by flooding. “What else can you do?”

Among the solutions considered, and rejected, were simply altering the depth of the existing ditches - complicated by the high water table in the area - or doing nothing. Neither would solve the flooding.

Anyone with questions is asked to contact Amber Leal, Capital Project Manager with the Town of Innisfil at [email protected] or 705-436-3740 ext. 3246, or Ken Chow, P. Eng., Project Manager with KSGS Engineering, [email protected] or 416-818-6180.


Miriam King

About the Author: Miriam King

Miriam King is a journalist and photographer with Bradford Today, covering news and events in Bradford West Gwillimbury and Innisfil.
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