A master plan is being eyed for Sarnia’s 300-plus kilometers of stormwater-pipe infrastructure that city officials predict will involve hundreds of millions of dollars in replacement work roughly two decades from now.
A master plan is being eyed for Sarnia’s 300-plus kilometers of stormwater-pipe infrastructure that city officials predict will involve hundreds of millions of dollars in replacement work roughly two decades from now.
“We’re starting to get to the point where we do need to start planning for that work,” engineering and operations general manager David Jackson said.
The infrastructure is relatively young when compared to city water and sewage pipes, so there hasn’t been annual replacement work and no dedicated funding stream, but there’s been talk about introducing a separate stormwater rate to help build up reserves to cover looming replacement costs.
Dedicated rate proposals and expected repairs are a similar trend in other cities in Ontario, Jackson said, noting around 20 have adopted a stormwater rate so far.
“For the stormwater piece, it really is because it’s the youngest asset,” he said. “The need hasn’t been there so it hasn’t been prioritized.”
The plan now is to budget in 2023 for a master plan for the system, which is responsible for diverting rainwater, to better identify where flooding is happening and how to prioritize making fixes, he said.
“Generally our priority is to separate combined sewers because that causes sanitary sewer backflow into basements,” he said.
Up next in the pecking order is stormwater issues that cause more general property damage, followed by issues leading to water ponding in people’s backyards, he said.
Older Sarnia master plans exist for things such as water and wastewater systems, and those can be updated to tackle those respective expenses and priorities, he said.
Sarnia’s recently unveiled core asset management plan also notes the city has a one-kilometre stormwater forcemain, three stormwater pumping stations, and eight stormwater ponds in its stormwater asset network. Those are collectively about half as old as the pipes, which themselves are an average of 50 years old.
A community in Sarnia’s northeast with a private road and its own 1954-built drainage system, which is now failing and leading to flooding in yards and on streets, recently opted to have Sarnia assume it into its network.
The neighborhood on what’s known as the Farris Subdivision Drain had invoked the Drainage Act to try to have the flooding issues repaired, but ultimately backed off after it became clear the cost would be thousands of dollars per household to get the work done.
Sarnia council agreed the city would foot the $84,000 bill for the engineering work completed in the interim.
Because of other stormwater priorities, including about two decades of remaining sewer-separation work in the city, the Farris drainage system likely won’t be repaired for years, Jackson said.
“There are issues with that system, but we’ve had issues all across the north end with flooding,” he said.
Plans are to instead look into minor repairs to make the vitrified clay-tile system function better in the interim, he said.
A neighborhood representative who spoke to council in June said there are 50 property owners affected and noted there are health concerns associated with the pooling water.
Private drains – mostly in rural and industrial areas, but with a handful in Sarnia residential neighborhoods within the built boundary – are pay-as-you-go for infrastructure upgrades under the Drainage Act, Jackson said.
Sarnia currently uses sewer-rate money to pay for stormwater infrastructure needs. Farris drain users also pay that rate.
Having a stormwater rate would have eliminated the inequity of residents there being forced to pay extra had they decided to keep the drain system private, Jackson said.
“Right now, because we don’t have a stormwater charge – we’re not really charging people any rate for stormwater – then there is this inequity in (situations) like the Farris drain where they have this separate municipal drain charge,” he said.
Private roads are a rarity in Sarnia, he noted.