Drain set for $1.1M upgrade
Project to curb future flooding
A $1.1-million improvement to the Grand Marais Drain should help alleviate the risk of flooding for more than 8,000 nearby homes that send their storm water into the channel.
“The Grand Marais Drain provides storm water outlet for a significant area of the city,” said Anna Godo, senior engineer and drainage superintendent for the city. “Maintenance of the drain is very important from a storm management perspective.”
The drain was built in the 1970s and stretches for more than nine kilometres from Pillette Road to west of Huron Church Road where it converts into LaSalle’s Turkey Creek.
The city is paying one half of the upcoming costs for the improvement project — or $550,000 — while the Essex Region Conservation Authority will pay the remainder after obtaining a grant from Ontario’s Ministry of Natural Resources.
Preparatory work will begin next week which includes removal of overgrown brush and greenery that hinders the drain’s operation.
Construction on three separate sections of the drain will next be launched at the end of October and continue into next spring.
“We are filling in the gaps because a significant length of the drain has already been improved over the last few years,” Godo said. “We are widening and deepening the basin in some sections to match what is already in place so there is no obstruction in the flow for the drain.”
ERCA is helping oversee the improvement project and the first phase will be focused on a 45-metre stretch just east of Walker Road, said John Henderson, water resources man- ager for ERCA.
The work will include a bridge replacement and channel improvements. It is expected to be completed some time in December, he said.
The next phase will cover about 140 metres of the drain between Walker and Byng Road, where the channel will also be widened and deepened.
“There are only a few sections remaining still requiring upgrades,” Henderson said. “The main purpose is better flood control.”
The final section to be completed is a 90-metre stretch in the area of South Cameron, but that remains provisional based on finalizing ministry funding, he said.
Godo said some of the work will allow for the removal of temporary ponds that were established to service new subdivisions near the drain until it could be upgraded.
Also included in the plan is a planting strategy to grow grasses and select trees within the drain that will not impact future flow within the channel or obstruct drain maintenance.
All work must be completed by March in order for ERCA to receive the full funding being provided by the provincial government, Henderson said.
“This work is very important,” he said.
“Over the years, the Grand Marais Drain has had lot of improvements. In order to obtain the full benefits of the past work, these sections need to be cleaned up to reduce the risk of flooding for residents in Windsor.”