Nearly two decades after it was built, Sandalwood Pond in St. Davids is taking on more than it was meant to handle — and the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake says it’s time for an upgrade.
In a press release issued Friday, the town says that while the pond was engineered and designed in 2005 according to appropriate standards, a consultant has identified “capacity challenges, particularly during severe weather events.”
The town hired GEI Consultants to evaluate the stormwater management system and provide recommendations. The consultant confirmed that the pond is experiencing increased water flow.
The town is now investigating contributing factors, including property discharges into the pond and regional water redirection.
GEI Consultants prepared four technical memos between April and September of this year. Council discussed the matter with the firm during a closed session at its Sept. 23 meeting.
In the first memo, dated April, GEI said an unnamed individual raised concerns that the pond was “not operating as intended.” The same individual also reported flooding in adjacent rights-of-way and driveways following two heavy rainfalls on June 18 and July 10, 2024.
In the final memo submitted in September, GEI stated that the “contributing drainage area to the Vineyard Creek Estates stormwater management facility included an area larger than it was originally designed for.”
The memo presented four options for upgrading the pond:
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Convert the existing pond to one without a permanent pool, including a retaining wall — estimated cost: $610,000.
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Remove the permanent pool in the existing pond and add a stormwater detention tank — estimated cost: $1 million.
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Remove the permanent pool in the existing pond, add a detention tank and an additional pond without a permanent pool — estimated cost: $2 million.
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Keep the current pond and construct an additional one without a permanent pool — estimated cost: $1.15 million.
Residents have expressed mixed reactions to the findings and proposed solutions.
Kip Voege and Gienek Ksiazkiewicz, a St. Davids resident, responded with cautious optimism, but both believe the issue extends beyond Sandalwood Pond.
“It is a step in the right direction,” said Voege. “However, it involves more than just Sandalwood (Vineyard Creek Estate stormwater management facility).”
Ksiazkiewicz agreed, pointing to other problematic areas such as Tawny Ridge.
Residents of Sandalwood Crescent, which is located near the pond, also shared their experiences.
Paul Frantangelo, who has lived on the street for 14 years, said he has seen the pond overflow in the past.
“It does fill up,” he said. “I have seen the water twice come on the roadway … about five or six years ago.”
However, he said he doesn’t recall flooding during last year’s storms.
Jamie Kallio, a resident of seven years, reported flooding in his backyard “last summer or two summers ago.”
“It flooded all the way to the level of my pool in the backyard from the storm drain that drains into that pond,” he said. “Especially (my backyard) being at the base of Sandalwood, they tend to flood very quickly, or at least the drains get overwhelmed quickly.”
Kallio said the pond should drain more quickly and believes too much water is being funnelled into it.
“From what I understand … I guess all the water from Angel’s Drive and from Tanbark and Sandalwood all flows down to that one retention pond, and that’s why it gets overwhelmed so quickly,” he said.
“So, any large rainstorms generally have that pond filled to the brim.”
He also called for a fence to be installed around the pond due to the number of children in the area and the risk of accidents during floods.
