Weather events cause increasing flood concerns

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Recent weather events have caused concern for residents prompting Councillor Thom Paterson to encourage his fellow council members to look ahead and plan for solutions.

In March, an ice jam caused flooding at the south end of Creemore and in June, a deluge of rain caused flooding at the north end of town.

Paterson said these weather events aren’t predictable, but are expected, and some of the facilities that exist to prevent flooding are proving to be inadequate.

“We’re aware that, with changing weather, some of the obvious things that we’ve seen this year are warning signs,” he said.

In recent years high winds and heavy rains have caused the Mad River to surge and water to flow down Fairgrounds Road, causing flooding to yards.

“We declared a climate crisis and there is a meaning in that. That means we have to be better prepared so I want to signal people that we have to start thinking about these things,” said Paterson. “We have to turn some of these concerns into operational, actionable items.”

He is asking council to think about how to improve streets so the water drains better, while working with the NVCA, the County of Simcoe, and developers so that all of the costs and responsibilities do not fall solely on the municipality.

“It’s not so much that our drainage facilities are aging, it’s that they’re probably not sized for predictably more rains, heavier snows and more thaws,” said Paterson.

The drainage problem at the north end of town affecting homes on County Road 9 and Jardine Crescent was exacerbated when a drain on County Road 9 became clogged with debris. Paterson said the public works department is aware of the issues and as the next budget cycle begins, he wants council to think about costs associated with sizing drains to handle more water.

Then there is the general draining pattern of groundwater in Creemore that is a result of the roads not being “urbanized,” meaning many roads don’t have curbs and gutters.

Paterson said he wants to know if residents have concerns about flooding. He can be reached at tpaterson@clearview.ca.

Photo: Properties at the north end of Creemore overwhelmed by rain water in June.

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