Comment received by user gillian norton on November 12th
Comments to Have Your Say HK (Huron- Kinloss) as follow up from presentation to Council by Dietrich Engineering October 21st 2019
Bruce Beach Rd. receives run off from 3 watershed drainage areas: Conc. Rd 10 and Highland Drive, Lake Range Drive and 98 Outlet and Cameron Outlet. Our property, #146 Bruce Beach Rd. is included in the Conc. Rd 10 and Highland Drive drainage watershed. We will only respond to the proposal from Dietrich to install an Infiltration gallery that addresses the North end ( Cottages 150-134) flooding as this is where our property is located and we are directly impacted.
Dietrich Engineering is proposing the installation of a drainage infiltration system to address north end flooding .The estimated costs ( $632,200 ) associated with the proposed remediation to fix what we consider a relatively minor problem are excessive both for the Township and also for the property owners and are unnecessary.
The flooding experienced at the north end typically only lasts 2-3 weeks in early spring (usually March) and has been worse in the recent years since Highland Drive was paved. Our property (146) has never been affected by the flooding. No flooding has occurred on the west side of Bruce Beach Rd unless it floods across from the east side when the ditch on the East side becomes full. The flooding only affects the land near the road and has never affected any of the houses and cottages.
When the Township repaved Highland Drive the drainage seems to have been directed to flow out through a pipe shown in the photograph showing the “No Exit” sign at the bottom of the Highland Drive which then flows into the small natural ditch on the east side of Bruce Beach Rd. Prior to paving the drainage seeped into the ground all along the road and into the gravel surface of the road and then drained naturally along this section of Bruce Beach Rd. In addition, several property owners on Highland Drive have cut trees and brush from the bank against the directives from the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) which designates the hillside as an area for ecological preservation. In addition, ash trees have died due to the ravages of the Emerald Ash borer infestation. New cottages and extensions have been built along Highland Drive which alter the natural drainage pattern. The farm properties on the east side of Lake Range Drive have been tile drained in recent years allowing for more rapid run off into drainage systems in the watershed. All these factors are influencing the change in drainage in this watershed area and have worsened the flooding experienced in the spring usually when the ground is still frozen. Property owners (150-134) along Bruce Beach Rd. have not contributed to these changes.
In the fall of 2018, HK Township excavated the natural ditch from the corner of Highland Drive to cottage #142 to a depth of 2-3 ft. This improved the ability of the ditch to hold run off from Highland drive and to act as a temporary retention area.
The soil sampling carried out by Dietrich in the summer of 2019 shows a hydraulic conductivity rate from cottage 150-136 of between 605 mm/hr to 975mm/hr. These numbers indicate that the sandy soil which is around 1.00 – 2.5m deep - at this point can cope with a large amount of water and drains well.
It is our opinion from this data that if the ditch on the east side of Bruce Beach Rd from cottages 150-135 was deepened and kept free of vegetation and debris that the natural soil drainage could then handle the increased flow from Highland Drive. At the meeting on Oct 21st a request was made to Dietrich to investigate the feasibility of this solution ( i.e. creation of a French drain) and to determine the estimated costs. It is expected that this solution would be significantly less expensive than that outlined in the proposal.
The drawings of the proposed infiltration gallery show an asphalt surface on Bruce Beach Rd. We remain opposed to paving Bruce Beach Rd as it will encourage fast through traffic. Through traffic should be directed to use Lake Range Drive.
In summary, We find the proposal unacceptable in its present form