Councillors set to grapple with stormwater management costs

When, where and at what cost stormwater flows in Barrie will be on city councillors’ agenda Monday.

They will consider approval of the stormwater asset management plan, which identifies the operations, maintenance work and expansion of $1.25 billion worth of stormwater infrastructure in Barrie – including storm sewers, culverts, ponds and watercourses.

Coun. Clare Riepma is vice-chairman of the city building committee, responsible for matters related to the planning and design of infrastructure, which includes stormwater. The Ward 1 councillor, also a planner by profession and a civil engineer, said stormwater management has become essential in Barrie.

“It is only in the last 20 years that stormwater management has become more important. Before that we would fill creeks and ravines or turn them into culverts which resulted in environmental degradation and areas that are prone to flooding,” he said. “Today we are much more aware of these consequences. Over time the city has been working to reverse some of this damage, reduce flooding and improve water quality.

“This is especially important because Barrie is right on the water and everything ends up in Kempenfelt Bay,” Riepma said. “At this point we have almost 100 storm detention ponds that control flooding, reduce erosion and improve water quality in the bay. However, these ponds also require maintenance and we have been falling behind in doing that over the years.”

As part of its 2021 operating and capital budget the city has approved $1.5 million this year, and for the next three years, for stormwater treatment pond maintenance. The funding comes equally from the tax capital reserve and the federal gas tax reserve.

Barrie’s stormwater ponds are a $100-million problem, staff say. More than 50 per cent are in poor or very poor condition, reflecting a historical lack of maintenance. The city has been working during the past decade to address this through the pond clean-out program, and must continue to ensure the problem does not get bigger, staff say.

Historically, the city has underspent on stormwater management – increasing the risk of flooding, infrastructure failure and environmental damage. The stormwater asset management plan forecasts continued under-investment during the next decade, although the gap in that time is much less than the historic ones.

Staff says it will cost $451 million to sustain the current level of stormwater services during the next 10 years – $232 million for growth and upgrades, $138 for renewal, $65 million for maintenance and $16 million for pond clean-out. More than half of that total could be paid for by new development, but the bill is still substantial.

“It would be great if other levels of government would contribute and we would welcome that,” Riepma said. “Otherwise it has to come out of our taxes.

“We did increase the spending on our storm ponds in this budget by about $1 million and we will have to spend more in coming years to keep up,” he said. “Especially as our climate changes and we experience more intense storm events, particularly in the spring, the pressure on our resources will increase.”

And the city has already spent millions of dollars upgrading and enlarging its stormwater drainage under and around Lakeshore Drive, to ensure the new waterfront road doesn’t flood.

The city is responsible for mitigating flooding and ensuring clean stormwater runoff enters Lake Simcoe, essentially dealing with rainfall and runoff from the hard surfaces created from an urban environment.

The physical condition of Barrie’s stormwater infrastructure is generally good, with 79 per cent considered in fair or good condition. This means that the city has time to build reserves to fund storm sewer repair and replacement in the future when the assets reach end-of-life.

On average, Barrie’s sewers, culverts, and manufactured treatment devices still have approximately 75 per cent of service life remaining, based on material and age. The remaining life for ponds is estimated at less than 25 per cent.

These ponds are used for flood control and function to reduce sedimentation prior to discharge into receiving waters, in order to maintain or restore acceptable water quality standards for protecting the natural environment.

Stormwater management ponds require more frequent maintenance to keep them functioning properly. Work required consists primarily of removing sediment that has accumulated over time. Historically, the city has not had funding to keep up with pond clean-out and as a result, there is a large backlog of stormwater ponds.

While there has been increased investment in maintaining stormwater ponds in recent years, the backlog of work still exists.

Capacity of channels, pipes and culverts is a major factor in controlling and mitigating flooding. In 2019, the city completed a Barrie-wide Drainage Master Plan to document the existing deficiencies and barriers to growth; it identified more than $400 million in growth and upgrade projects required to meet 2041 growth targets.