CLOSED: This discussion has concluded.

Issues in the Bruce Beach Drainage Project

Issues to Date:

Council held an in camera meeting immediately after after the Dietrich presentation on October 21, 2019. This was an election day and the scheduling of the Dietrich Presentation on Election Day sent a very negative message to the Bruce Beach Property owners with only 6 out of 71 property owners living in the local area. Council limited questions after the presentation to three by one person Al Brezina President Division Area 11 and Cameron Grove (who travelled 6 hours to attend). All the attendees for the presentation were there were asked to leave after the presentation due to an in camera meeting being scheduled. Several owners made efforts to attend and drove over 6 hours to attend this Council meeting. It would have been appreciated if the owners who had driven up for the presentation of the Bruce Beach Drainage Project could have been offered the opportunity to move to another room so they could continue to ask the Consultant questions and get clarifications in an informal way. Recommendation: Schedule Consultant presentations at the end of Council meetings when informal time can be allowed for landowners to ask their questions and get clarifications from the Dietrich consultant.

Lack of Engagement of Land Owners

According to the Drainage Act Summary provided by OMAFRA As a landowner who has land in the "area requiring drainage", you will receive formal notice of the time and place of the "on-site" meeting. While your attendance (or that of your representative) is not mandatory, it is the best opportunity to discuss your drainage requirements. Consider wetland areas which would benefit from drainage, closed or open drain preference, (if open drain, location of material from drain construction), crossing requirements - location, width, maximum loads, seasonal or year-round use: surface water entry to the drain, erosion problems, unstable soil conditions, fencing, location and condition of existing subsurface drains, special concerns such as grass buffer strips, windbreaks, and many others” Reference: http://www.omafra.gov.on.ca/english/engineer/facts/88-051.htm

In the Drainage Act it states” 9 (1) The engineer shall, before making an examination and report, cause the clerk of the local municipality to send at least seven days notice in the form prescribed by the regulations to each owner of lands within the area requiring drainage as described in the petition and to each public utility that may be affected by the petition setting out the time and place of an on-site meeting with the engineer to examine the area. R.S.O. 1990, c. D.17, s. 9 (1); 2010, c. 16, Sched. 1, s. 2 (5).”

I have requested a site meeting specifically to Grant Collins with Dietrich. Mr Collins has not arranged this requested meeting to date.

We would respectfully request one landowner site meeting in July or August to be offered with all the assessed land owners in the Bruce Beach Drainage Project or at the earliest on the May long weekend. A structured site meeting would facilitate understanding and engagement of landowners greatly. An agenda for a landowner site meeting might look like this to allow for focused discussion and questions in this multi dimensional complex project:

10 am -10:45 am Site meeting at Highland Drive

11 am to 11:45 am Site meeting at Cameron Grove /120 Bruce Beach Rd. for the road section #136 to #100

12:00 pm to 12:45 Site meeting for SWM and Ravine #98 outlet meet at road by Pollock picnic area

!:00 pm to 1:45 Site meeting for SWM and Lake Range Stormwater Management at road side near Lake Range Rd.# 724

Guiding Principles

On December 3, 2018 the Township of Huron-Kinloss Committee of the Whole received the presentation from Joan McLaughlin and Melanie Clark regarding the guiding principles for drainage on Bruce Beach Road AND FURTHER directed staff to forward the information to Dietrich Engineering

It would be helpful to landowners to have Dietrich Engineering circle back to the Key Principles and Guiding Principles and measure proposed solutions against these principles.

Outlets on the Westerly Bluff

Addressing the root cause of Stormwater generation is a best Practice. HK has done nothing in the project to address the Lake Range and Highland Drive properties that have outlets to the westerly bluff just above the east side Bruce Beach Rd. that contribute to the ponding and flooding. I have posted a picture in my last posting dated some seven months ago titled Best Practice Based Approach to Bruce Beach Source- Storm Water Management of one large outlet at the top of the bluff above the entrance to Cameron Grove, it is located at ~ 754 Lake Range Dr. In fact this outlet has now caused the formation of a very muddy gully as the water erodes the soil.This is only one example of the root cause of ponding and periodic flooding along Bruce Beach Rd. between Highland Drive and the 8th Concession. Under the drainage act the Engineer can enter private property and conduct inspections. We would request an assessment by the Dietrich Engineer of west facing outlets towards the bluff- of properties # 702 to 796 west side of Lake Range Rd and Highland Drive # 306 to 330. Concurrent to these inspections, we respectfully request the Engineer have access to the Huron Kinloss and Saugeen Valley building permit (s) conditions for each property as it appears to we owners that since development many more trees have been removed increasing run off and that the properties be inspected for compliance with the tree by law tree for evidence of any required remediation orders being completed if such compliance orders have been issued.

Recent SWM Proposal

It is negligent that the Consultant /HK would continue to use the gully above #98 when the #98 outlet gets fully blocked with sand from the lake side during high winds and storm events. This outlet is NOT a sufficient outlet and presents high risk to property owners adjacent. Using the Bruce Beach Ravine/ Gully located above #98 even with a SWM will continue to erode the gully, an environmentally sensitive area, with soil going into the lake and causing algae, bacteria in the water as witnessed this past summer, quality of water issues for fish habitat, as well as contributing to the collapse of the gully/deforestation which is already partially collapsed due to the volumes of water.

Councils in the past were irresponsible when they used the Ravine/ Gully above #98 to drain Lake Range and some 200 acres of farmland. They chose to use the Ravine/Gully above #98 (the lowest cost approach) rather than build a municipal drain down Conc #8 as they did at Conc #10. Once again Council and Dietrich have shortlisted the least costly but most environmentally irresponsible approach. Should the Ravine/ Gully above #98 continue to be the preferred drainage route, then this is negligence at the highest level as the Council has been educated on the effect of erosion on the Ravine/Gully at two Council meetings by Dietrich, specifically they were shown pictures of the collapse and destabilization of trees and the soil entering the lake, causing algae, bacteria development affecting fish habitat and water quality issues. If the water was redirected down a municipal drain down the 8th then the gully would stop collapsing ( or slow it down substantively), the soil and the associated bacteria would not be picked up. A municipal drain down the 8th Concession, taking water from the SWM and most of Lake Range Rd would prevent algae and bacterial contamination affecting the beach, tourism and fish habitat in the surrounding area, and would improve enjoyment and use of Bruce Beach. We hope that a Municipal drain down the 8th Concession to act as a SWM outlet and take storm water from all Lake Range Rd. be considered for a more environmentally friendly route to get the storm water into the lake.

Thank you for providing a forum for feedback and we hope for ongoing progress with this multifactorial, complex and challenging Bruce Beach Drainage Project.











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