BRUCE BEACH RD. DRAIN PROJECT COMMENTS & CONCERNS

We favour drainage plans designed to slow down and meter out water run-off from rain storms or spring snow-melt, so that large amounts are not injected into the lake rapidly. Run-off contains soil, vegetation, debris, and chemicals which are not good for the lake. The faster the run-off, the greater the quantities of these things carried in the water flows.

Ideally, drainage plans should include surge reservoirs which moderate downstream flows and encourage materials settling and water seepage into the soil for natural filtration on route to the lake. This also helps maintain the ground water level which is good for trees, shrubs, etc.

We strongly oppose schemes which merely promote rapid run-off to the lake, whether through new or existing outlets. These may alleviate some isolated short-term flooding problems but are not good for the lake or the water table, and are likely to increase potential for physical damage at the beach outlets. Consequently, Concepts 1A, 1B, 2, and 3 are not acceptable to us.

Concept 4 seems like a good idea and well worth pursuing. A surge reservoir east of Lake Range Dr. should significantly reduce discharge through 98 Outlet and help avoid culvert washouts like that experienced on Bruce Beach Rd. after a large rainfall in the summer of 2018. This storm incident also caused significant beach and lawn damage at Cottage 98, and introduced large amounts of unwanted run-off materials into the lake.

Concept 5 looks promising. If the soil infiltration tests are encouraging, could the proposed actions for the flood-affected areas of Bruce Beach Rd. include moderate elevation of the road bed and adjacent driveway entrances, addition or expansion of gutters on both sides of the road, and inclusion of side-to-side pipes under the road and the driveway entrances, with no direct connections to the Lake?

Steve & Betty Phin, 140 Bruce Beach Rd.