Residents frustrated by years of flooding in St. Davids pressed Niagara-on-the-Lake staff and consultants at the Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Centre last week for answers.
“We cannot knowingly have a problem for 15 years and do nothing, and not expect residents to sit there and go, ‘This is not acceptable, we’re going to initiate a class action suit,’” resident Shawn Comfort told officials at an April 16 public session where possible fixes were presented to residents.
Comfort said he has six sump pumps and has spent $20,000 of his own money trying to manage flooding.
“My property becomes a lake until the culverts catch up,” he said.
The session was part of the town’s Vineyard Creek Estates stormwater management environmental assessment, launched to address localized drainage concerns and improve the area’s stormwater pond.
The project is expected to take about a year and a half to complete and the current public comment period does not yet have a set end date.
Residents were presented with six possible solutions: a downstream stormwater pond at 320 Tanbark Rd., expansion of the existing Sandalwood pond, a new pond at Lowery Park, a new pond at Sparky’s Park, underground storage tanks at Lowrey Park and Sparky’s Park and a “do nothing” option required under the municipal class environmental assessment process.
Officials are using four criteria: technical feasibility, natural environmental considerations, social and cultural considerations, and financial and project viability.
Presentation materials said the existing Sandalwood pond was built when the area had far less pavement and development. More roads, roofs and driveways now mean rainwater reaches the system faster, putting more pressure on it.
Although officials said climate change and updated rainfall trends were considered in the proposed options, several residents questioned whether the town’s traditional “100-year storm” planning standard still reflects today’s heavier rainfall and more frequent extreme weather.
One asked if any solution chosen now would still be enough as more homes are built and weather events become more severe.
“Are we going to be doing this again in another several years?” said Linda Della Rossa.
The Lake Report asked whether the study assumes all possible future growth permitted in that area and if residents will get another chance to comment once more studies are complete — after staff repeatedly said further analysis and evaluation of the options would come later.
Officials said drainage upgrades are being planned for that growth and that final reports will be posted publicly before another comment period.
Concerns also came from outside the immediate study area. Resident Scott Kirby, who said he lives on Line 1, told officials he has dealt with flooding and wanted to know how downstream impacts would be addressed.
“The message that you oughta be receiving is we need to take a bigger look at this,” he said.
“If you’re getting people from downstream coming to this, there’s a reason that there’s a problem.”
The paper also sought a breakdown of the pros and cons of the underground storage option, noting some residents might favour it at first glance because it would preserve green space above ground.
Staff said the underground option could come with higher construction and maintenance costs, less storage capacity than an open pond and difficulty directing large storm flows into the system.
Some residents also asked why the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority was not at the meeting, as many questions focused on Four Mile Creek and downstream flooding.
Staff said the authority has responsibilities related to the creek, while some nearby drainage infrastructure is also the town’s responsibility.
The authority will review the study and provide feedback, but staff said it does not usually attend public meetings like this.
