‘Wilmot Gives a Dam’ petition pushes for better flood prevention

Downtown New Hamburg business owners and concerned residents are calling on local politicians and a regional organization to figure out a way to prevent future flooding of the Nith River.

The recently-formed Nith Flood Action Committee launched its “Wilmot Gives a Dam” petition on May 30.

It requests that “the Township of Wilmot and the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) make eliminating or mitigating the flooding problems of the Nith River a priority.”

This includes applying for grants it believes the township is eligible for.

“With climate change, events like the flooding in February are only going to get worse,” said committee member Richard Quesnel. “We have to start thinking proactively right now.”

As of Thursday morning, the committee had collected 184 of its targeted 200 signatures.

Out of the 29 New Hamburg businesses the committee approached, 28 agreed to carry posters and petitions for the cause, and 23 support better flood prevention, the committee said.

It also got about 80 signatures from going door-to-door in New Hamburg on the evening of May 30.

“This isn’t just about the people who live by the river, this is about the businesses and value of the town as a whole,” said Quesnel.

“Everyone has to pay when the ball diamonds or library receive damage. The flooding consistently lowers the value of commercial and residential properties.”

Quesnel moved to New Hamburg in 2008, shortly before another major flood hit the town. He was involved in a similar “Fix the Nith” organization and was consistently in communication with Wilmot Township for three years, until he says it stopped responding to him entirely.

The new committee, which formed shortly after the flooding of New Hamburg in February, pointed out to the township that there are five grants that have been created since 2008 that they believe the municipality is eligible for to mitigate flooding.

It also presented a list of 81 other municipalities in Ontario that were successfully awarded money from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund.

“The problem is political,” said Quesnel. “The township says the GRCA is in complete control of all matters on the Nith, but the GRCA says they would need to complete an environmental assessment on the area first, and that the township would be required to pay a portion of the costs.”

A representative of the township acknowledged that Wilmot was eligible for roughly $550,000 in funding from the Ontario Community Infrastructure Fund, but noted that Nith River flood controls are within the mandate of the province and the conservation authority, not the township.

The response was repeated with regard to other grant opportunities.

Conservation authority spokesperson Cameron Linwood said most of sources of funding highlighted by the committee are “not available to the GRCA.”

He said National Disaster Mitigation Program funding “is currently available to both municipalities and the GRCA for floodplain mapping, flood mitigation studies and small flood mitigation works. Funding secured through this program must be matched by the applicant.”

Linwood said authority staff plan to meet with township staff to discuss potential flood mitigation opportunities in New Hamburg.

With climate change, events like the flooding in February are only going to get worse. RICHARD QUESNEL