Tilbury Stormwater Master Plan

The Study

The Municipality of Chatham-Kent initiated the Tilbury Stormwater Master Plan to develop a road map for infrastructure improvements to address the existing flooding concerns and storm sewer capacity issues within the Community of Tilbury. The Community experiences localized flooding due to undersized storm sewers, poor road drainage and historic tile drain issues. The flat topography in and around Tilbury is a major constraint to remedying the flooding issues. This Stormwater Master Plan is being undertaken in accordance with Approach #2 which requires the preparation of a Master Plan upon completion of Phases 1 and 2 of the EA process where the level of investigation, consultation and documentation are sufficient to fulfill the requirements of Schedule B projects.

The project objectives include:

• Engage with residents to understand flooding issues within Tilbury;
• Assess the existing capacity of the stormwater conveyance system to identify flooding locations and capacity issues;
• Develop a set of design solutions to address flooding concerns and storm sewer capacity.
• Consult with residents, review agencies and other stakeholders to determine the preferred solution; and
• Prepare a long-term implementation schedule for the proposed projects.

The Master Plan evaluated a set of alternatives that included storm sewer upsizing, improvements to overland flow conveyance, pump stations, and stormwater management facilities. Through an evaluation of alternatives, the study identified the preferred solution which consists of 15 individual projects. A short-term and long-term implementation strategy has been developed to inform future capital works funding.

Project Timeline

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). A Community Café and Public Information Centre were held to provide interested parties with an opportunity to review and discuss flooding concerns within Tilbury and submit comments for the study.

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 Community Café, the Public Information Centre (PIC), and to invite feedback.

• Notice of Commencement and Community Café: August 30, 2019.
• Notice of Public Information Centre: January 14, 2020.
• Notice of Completion: December 21, 2020.

Community Café

A Community Café was held on September 17, 2019, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Tilbury Arena. The Community Café was completed as a voluntary public consultation under Phase 1 of the Class EA process. The objective of the Community Café was to provide Tilbury residents with an opportunity to identify flooding issues in Tilbury that would be used to inform the Master Plan. The Community Café introduced the project and project team, a presented summary of the Class EA process.

The following key flooding issues were raised by residents who attended the Community Café:

• High-intensity rainfall events, in particular the September 26, 2018 event, cause extensive road ponding and overland flooding of private properties at some locations.
• Insufficient stormwater management in the Homestead Subdivision.
• Flooding was identified on Thomas Crescent, Sunset Place, Rose Avenue, Laurentia Drive, Odette Court, and Homestead Drive.
• Many properties with sump pumps directly connected to the storm sewer often experience basement flooding during heavy rainfall because of limited capacity in the receiving storm sewer.
• Residents on the south side of Laurentia Drive who back onto the Hydro One experience ongoing basement flooding issues. The basement flooding is caused by old farm tile drains that extend from the Hydro One corridor into the backyards of the residential properties. The farm tiles were not capped when the residential subdivision was developed and now the farm tiles convey farm drainage directly to the impacted property owners’ weeping tiles, overloading sump pumps and flooding basements.

Public Information Centre

A PIC was held on Wednesday, February 12, 2020, from 5:30 pm to 7:30 pm at the Tilbury Arena. The PIC provided local residents with the following information:

• Introduction to the project;
• Project update;
• Summary of the Class EA process;
• Description of stormwater conveyance in Tilbury;
• Summary of the stormwater conveyance challenges specific to Tilbury;
• Discussion regarding PDC connections and basement flooding including recommendations to direct sump pumps and roof leaders to front yards;
• Results of the stormwater modeling and key flooding locations;
• Description of the design alternatives developed to address the flooding issues;
• Identification of the preliminary preferred alternative; and,
• Next steps.

The PIC consisted of a 20-minute presentation by ERI staff followed by break-out tables to discuss the design solutions. PIC boards were also provided for discussion before and after the presentation. The PIC was attended by 24 members of the public who signed the register.

Four comment sheets were completed by residents and several comments were directly provided to the project team during the breakout session. Residents identified the following key concerns:

• Ongoing basement flooding at Laurentia Drive needs to be addressed as soon as possible. This issue has caused significant stress and anxiety to residents with fear of continued flooding. Laurentia Drive residents indicated that addressing the issue in 5 years was not good enough; an immediate solution is needed.
• Overland flooding along Rose Avenue is caused by ponding water on the road.
• Catch basins on the alley between Ella Street and Park Lane are not effective, causing ponding on the path and in backyards.
• Insufficient stormwater management in the new Homestead Subdivision.
• Continued ponding in backyards at Homestead Drive.
• Concern that new residential homes have sump pump PDCs.

Preferred Solution

Feasible alternative solutions were developed to provide improvements to the stormwater conveyance system to address flooding and meet the Municipal design standards. An evaluation of the alternative solutions to identify the preferred alternative was undertaken by considering the potential impacts to the social, economic, cultural, and natural environments, and the ability to address flooding in Tilbury.

Based on the evaluation, the preferred alternative for Tilbury is:

The preferred alternative is comprised of 15 projects that alleviate the local overland flooding issues in Tilbury and provide an opportunity to improve the local storm sewers to meet the 5-year design standard through future infrastructure renewal projects. The Schedule B projects included in the preferred alternative are:

• Construction of the Tilbury East Retention Pond and Pump Station.
• Construction of the Tilbury West Retention Pond and Pump Station.

Stormwater Private Drain Connections

Basement flooding is a key concern in Tilbury. It primarily occurs where basement sump pumps are connected to the storm sewer system via a private drain connection (PDC). PDCs are only beneficial to homeowners when the receiving storm sewers are not full. When the storm sewer is full, the sump pump cannot push water into the storm sewer resulting in backup and basement flooding. The proposed storm sewer upgrades included in Alternative 3a are intended to increase storm sewer capacity to meet the design standards and reduce overland flooding from roads. The upgrades may reduce the occurrence and/or severity of basement flooding during smaller rainfall events but they will not prevent basement flooding. Regardless of the storm sewer capacity, the storm sewer PDC will become blocked at some point in time, leading to basement flooding. PDCs are not a solution to basement flooding and relying on the storm sewer PDC to protect your home from basement flooding is not recommended. As part of any solution for Tilbury, all residents with storm sewer PDCs for sump pumps must install an alternative outlet for their sump pump to the front yard to provide a free-flowing outlet during heavy rainfall when the storm sewers are full.

Notice of Study Completion

The planning, consultation and alternative evaluation process undertaken throughout the study has been detailed in a Master Plan Report ha. 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, 2021 and ending on February 4, 2021. Extended to February 19, 2021. Hard copies will not be available due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

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. 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. The Schedule B projects identified in the study are the Tilbury East Retention Pond and Pump Station and the Tilbury West Retention Pond and Pump Station. Specific details about the Part II Order request process are provided in the Notice of Completion.

Requests should include the requester's 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 4, 2021,(extended to February 19, 2021) 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 Town intends to proceed with the project implementation phase.

Minister Jeff Yurek

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

777 Bay Street, 5^th Floor

Toronto, ON M7A 2J3

minister.mecp@ontario.ca

and

Director, Environmental Assessment Branch

Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks

135 St. Clair Avenue West, 1^st Floor

Toronto, ON M4V 1P5

EABDirector@ontario.ca