Bridgeport dike needs $5M in repairs
Earthen berm protects about 100 homes and several buildings on east side of Grand River
Preliminary work is underway to improve the stability and design of the dike that protects the Bridgeport community on the east side of the Grand River in Kitchener.
The Bridgeport dike is a 1.5-kilometre earthen berm that runs along the Grand at the bend in the river.
It protects Bridgeport, which is built on the floodplain next to the river. The dike was first built in the 1950s, and rebuilt in about 1980 after the 1974 flood. A trail runs along the top of the dike.
The dike ranges in height up to five metres and protects about 100 homes, 24 industrial and three institutional buildings in Bridgeport on the east side of the Grand.
Studies begun in 2021 revealed that the dike needs an upgrade to meet current flood control standards.
“There’s no risk of failure,” stressed Katelyn Lynch, manager of water infrastructure for the GRCA.
But the work would increase the dike’s flood protection.
Flood protection standards have increased since the dike was last upgraded about four decades ago, Lynch said.
Recent studies determined that if a storm of the magnitude of 1954’s Hurricane Hazel were to hit the area today, the dike wouldn’t be able to contain all the floodwaters, and Bridgeport would have some flooding, Lynch said.
In the short term, the GRCA cleared vegetation from the dike and removed animal burrows.
Longer-term improvements include a higher dike or building concrete engineered flood walls.
But the key is to ensure that better flood protection for Bridgeport doesn’t create problems for other sites upstream or downstream — the consultant working on the project, KGS Group, determined last year that raising the dike on its current alignment would lead to “significant increases” in floodwater heights for properties upstream and on the opposite or west bank of the Grand River.
The project is an interesting and important one, Lynch said. The GRCA takes seriously its responsibility “to make sure that these structures are operated and maintained as intended, to provide the level of flood protection for the communities in the Grand River watershed,” she said.
The GRCA has held one public meeting on the project, with two more planned: one this year on the alternatives, and a later one outlining the preferred option.
Detailed design would happen next year, with construction to follow, likely in 2026.
The total project was estimated in 2018 to cost $5 million. A $2-million federal disaster mitigation grant will pay part of the cost, with the rest paid for equally by provincial infrastructure funding and GRCA funds.