Ridgetown Stormwater Master Plan

The Process

The Master Plan was undertaken in accordance with the Ontario Environmental Assessment Act and covered all necessary phases of the Schedule ‘B’ EA Process. The Schedule ‘B’ process includes the definition of a problem or opportunity statement, public and Indigenous communities consultation, characterization of the existing environment and identification and evaluation of potential alternative solutions.

A key component of the study is consultation with interested stakeholders (public, landowners, and agencies). An Initial Online Consultation Period and an Online Public Information Centre were held to provide interested parties with an opportunity to submit comments regarding stormwater management and flooding in Ridgetown.

Public Consultation and Notices

Public notices were issued throughout the course of the study to notify stakeholders and the public of the project status, the Online Consultation Period, the Online Public Information Centre (PIC), and to invite feedback.

• Notice of Commencement and Online Consultation Period: August 31, 2020.
• Notice of Online Public Information Centre: February 24, 2022.
• Notice of Completion: January 4, 2023.

Online Consultation Period

At the commencement of the project, an Initial Online Consultation Period was provided through the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent website. The objectives of the Initial Online Consultation Period were to introduce the project, describe the Master Plan process, and obtain feedback from residents regarding flooding in Ridgetown. A 10 min video was posted on the website for the public to watch and provided information regarding the project, the Master Plan process, and how the public could provide input to the study. An online flooding questionnaire was also available on the website for residents to identify known flooding concerns in Ridgetown. The questionnaires included the location, type, frequency, and impact of flooding. A total of one response was received from a resident regarding flooding in the Victoria Avenue and Cathcart Street area.

Online Public Information Centre

An Online PIC was held through the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent website from February 23, 2022, to March 31, 2022. The Online PIC included a 20 minute video which presented the following information:

• Introduction to the project;
• Project update;
• Summary of the Class EA process;
• Description of stormwater conveyance in Ridgetown;
• Summary of the storm sewer condition assessment results;
• Results of the stormwater modeling and key flooding locations;
• Description of the design alternatives developed to address the flooding issues; and,
• Next steps.

Online comment sheets were also provided through the Let’s Talk Chatham-Kent website. Ten comment sheets were submitted by residents and included the following key concerns:

• How will the Municipality pay of the upgrades proposed in the study?
• Flooding has been observed in the farm field between 24 Cecil Street and 30 Cecil Street. This location was not identified in the PIC presentation as an area of concern.
• Flooding occurs along Victoria Avenue and has become worse in recent years following infill development in the area.
• Concern was raised regarding the proposed Highland Subdivision which is planned to include 131 additional homes. Residents are concerned that the existing undersized storm sewers and flooding issues in the Warwick Subdivision, adjacent to the Highland Subdivision, will become worse when the development is completed. Residents indicated that improvements and upgrades to the existing infrastructure should be undertaken before any additional drainage can be directed to the area.
• Preferred solutions should be those that are longer lasting and require less private land acquisition. Open drains where possible may also be more cost effective.

Portable signs were placed at the Ridgetown Arena (180 Main Street East) and the Ridgetown Ambulance Station (116 Main Street West) to inform residents of the online PIC

Preferred Solution

The storm sewer network was consolidated into 8 service areas to allow ease of assessment and presenting alternative solutions to broader capacity issues. Feasible alternative solutions were developed, where required, for each Service Area to provide improvements to the stormwater conveyance system to address flooding and meet the Municipal design standards.

An evaluation of the alternative solutions for each service area was undertaken to identify the preferred alternative by considering the potential impacts to the social, economic, cultural, and natural environments, and the ability to address flooding in Ridgetown. The evaluation identified the preferred solution which consists of 10 individual projects which include storm sewer upsizing, new trunk storm sewers, and new stormwater retention ponds. Additional 29 local storm sewer upgrades were identified through the storm sewer condition assessment.

Notice of Study Completion

The planning, consultation and alternative evaluation process undertaken throughout the study has been detailed in a Master Plan Report. The Notice of Study Completion is intended to notify stakeholders (residents, Indigenous communities, agencies, and the public) that the Master Plan report has been completed and will be available for public review and comment for a period of 30 days. The final public review period is a mandatory requirement of the Municipal Class EA process.

Public Review Period

The Master Plan Report will be available online for public review on the Municipality of Chatham-Kent website for a 30-day period, starting on January 4, 2023 and ending on February 12, 2023. Due to ongoing public health recommendations, hard copies will not be available.

If you have any accessibility requirements in order to be able to comment on the Master Plan report, please contact the Project Manager as soon as possible.

If, after reading the Master Plan Report, you have any questions or concerns, please contact:

Placing the Master Plan Report for public review completes the planning stage of the project. Anyone with an interest in the Study is encouraged to review the Master Plan Report and provide comments to the Municipality during the designated review period.

If you have outstanding concerns regarding potential adverse impacts to constitutionally protected Aboriginal treaty rights which cannot be resolved through discussions with the Municipality, a request may be made to the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks for an order requiring a higher level of study (i.e. requiring an individual/comprehensive EA approval before being able to proceed), or that conditions be imposed (e.g. require further studies). This is called a Part II Order request. Part II Order requests may only be made on the grounds that the requested order may prevent, mitigate or remedy adverse impacts on constitutionally protected Aboriginal and treaty rights. Requests on other grounds will not be considered. Only Schedule B projects identified in the Master Plan Report are subject to the Part II Order request. Requests should include the requester contact information and full name for the Ministry.

Requests should identify the specific Schedule B project, what kind of order is being requested (request for additional conditions or a request for an individual/comprehensive environmental assessment), how an order may prevent, mitigate or remedy those potential adverse impacts, and any information in support of the statements in the request. This will ensure that the Ministry is able to efficiently begin reviewing the request.

This request must be received within the above noted 30-day timeline ending on February 12, 2023, by the Minister, at the address listed below, and copied to the Municipality of Chatham-Kent (as noted above). If no request is received, subject to the receipt of necessary approvals, the Municipality intends to proceed with the project implementation phase.