Six-digit costs for TLTI drains

The Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands is readying for two municipal drain projects costing a combined total of more than $150,000.

The engineer’s report’s are in for the modification and improvement of the Poldervaart-Webster Municipal Drain and the Creek Road Municipal Drain.

These reports were recently presented before the Committee of the Whole of Township of Leeds and the Thousand Islands, and ultimately accepted by council as information.

The purpose of the reports is to update the assessments and bring the ditches themselves up to the current standards.

The estimated total cost of the drainage works for the Poldervaart-Webster Municipal Drain, including the Engineer’s Report and associated studies, is $86,496. Of this, $80,009 is to be assessed to benefiting property owners.

Similarly, the estimated total cost of the drainage works for the Creek Road Municipal Drain, including the Engineer's Report and associated studies, is also $86,496. Of this, $80,896 is to be assessed to benefiting property owners.

Other entities covering the costs of one or both projects include Trans-Northern Pipelines Inc., the United Counties of Leeds and Grenville, and the township itself.

Project costs, it was noted during the presentation to council, will be paid initially by the township and will be recovered through assessments/recoveries invoiced to the benefiting landowners.

The presentation to council was delivered by Lorne Franklin of Robinson Consultants Inc.

The Poldervaart-Webster Municipal Drain was constructed in 1974, while the Creek Road Municipal Drain was originally constructed in 1982. Maintenance on the drain was last completed in 2016-17, where full cleanout of all existing branches was performed.

Franklin noted that modifications to both municipal drains include improved drainage capacity for lands and roads, and fair and equitable distribution of costs for construction and future maintenance.

Work on the drains is to include replacement and addition of specific culverts due to capacity issues; re-establishment of smooth and positive-slope profile along the entire length of the drain; a periodic rock check of dam and sedimentation basins to reduce sediment transport and improve downstream water quality; and seeding and willow staking (in limited areas) of disturbed areas and buffer zones to reduce erosion along banks.

Each parcel of land that lies within the drainage basin and is upstream of the location where construction or maintenance is being undertaken pays for a portion of the cost of the construction or maintenance through an outlet assessment.

A land use factor is included in the assessment calculation to account for the volume of runoff from lands used for different purposes.

A distance factor was developed to account for the proximity of land to the drain and the relative amount of water that will enter the drain.

“Overall, this reduces the assessment on the basis that you’re further away from the drain and less likely that your water will be able to fully make it to the drain without being intercepted,” said Franklin.

In order to develop schedules for future maintenance charges, each drain has been divided into sections.

“If you could only use one-third of the drain, you’re only paying for one-third of the drain,” said Franklin.

Grant eligibility, Franklin added, may also impact one’s assessment.

In general, it was stated, to be eligible for a grant, the property must be eligible for the Farm Tax Class.

Allowances are paid to affected lands based on land lost due to ditch widening and relocation, as well as crop loss on agricultural lands, where excavated material is spread, at 100 per cent for the first year, 60 per cent for the second year, and 40 per cent for the third year.

There was some concern raised about demand-payment, which Coun. Brian Mabee brought to council’s attention.

“I want to see council do something different than that,” said Mabee. “There is going to be some large costs. There are other factors, too, with hardships on a lot of people out in the community.”

However, Mayor Corinna Smith-Gatcke said it’s important to note there is no expectation of demand-payment within 30 days.

“That was changed,” Smith-Gatcke said. “There is a bylaw in place in regards to how it is added to the tax bill and it is payable over ten years at a certain rate of interest.”

The discussion comes as the township prepares to host a public information session to discuss the urbanization and drainage improvements planned for the Village of Lansdowne.

The meeting is scheduled for Sept. 18 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at the Lansdowne Community Building, located at 1 Jessie Street, Lansdowne.

Township representatives will be present to answer questions and discuss the project’s next steps.

The project, which is currently in the design phase, focuses on enhancing the village’s infrastructure, including stormwater management, road improvements, and the addition of accessible pedestrian pathways.

Keith Dempsey is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of the Brockville Recorder and Times. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.