Point Abino drain project appeals tribunal set for next month

Local residents within the Point Abino drain watershed will likely be paying for a large chunk of a planned maintenance and upgrade project.

Properties in the Point Abino drain watershed have been assessed through the Drainage Act to pay for maintenance and improvement work planned for the drainage system, which connects to the neighbouring Sherkston area in Port Colborne and empties at an outlet in Point Abino.

“The reason the project was initiated was to be able to maintain and clean the debris from the drain. We couldn’t do that without an updated engineer’s report and updated assessments to be able to pay for the work,” said Fort Erie drainage superintendent Troy Davidson in an emailed response to Fort Erie Radio.

While many properties will be assessed relatively small fees, several assessments are in the thousands of dollars, including some over $20,000. All told, an engineer’s report from last spring provided a total estimated cost of just over $2.5 million.

The province’s Drainage Act, a longstanding piece of legislation with origins dating as far back as 1859, largely governs municipal drains. It provides rules for designed drainage systems that are meant to remove water from places that require drainage, often farmland and other rural areas.

“This means that although it functions on the local landscape, the Point Abino drain’s legal authority comes from provincial legislation, not just municipal policy or local infrastructure planning,” wrote Councillor Tom Lewis in a post addressing drain project on his website last fall.

In 2019, the City of Port Colborne appointed drainage engineer Paul Marsh to prepare a report on the Point Abino drain, a roughly 750-hectare area.

Marsh’s report highlighted maintenance and improvements needed for the system, including replacement of the Point Abino drain outlet, various culvert construction and replacement, and general excavation and maintenance work to clear out vegetation.

For instance, the emerald ash borer has caused many ash trees to die and fall over in the area.

Significant development has occurred and is planned for the Sherkston Shores area, changing the nearby landscape. However, in a public information session held in 2022, Port Colborne drainage superintendent Alana Vander Veen said a design review for Sherkston Shores showed no increase in drainage flows post development.

“So there shouldn’t be an additional flow coming from Sherkston Shores, according to the design,” she said at the meeting.

Marsh said at that same meeting that while the original intent of the Drainage Act was to focus on farmland, more recently the province and municipalities have been recognizing “the Drainage Act as an aid in water management, and not just for agricultural purposes but to serve everyone’s interest.”

The project has been met with some opposition. At a court of revision meeting held in Port Colborne last fall, more than 20 appeals were received. Most of the appeals were either dismissed or disallowed when the appellants didn’t show up for the meeting.

“Fort Erie worked with the drainage engineer and drainage superintendent from Port Colborne, and all worked together in many meetings to get through the hurdles and get this engineer’s report done. It took many meetings with the public to get it this far,” Davidson said.

The project is currently in the tribunal appeals stage, which is set for April 7.

“This could take some time to get through,” said Davidson. “Once we get through the appeals, we have a final meeting at council, then the tender stage, construction, and then it’s billed out to the property owners.”

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