Project background
Why are we adding stormwater measures to the park?
Climate change will bring more intense storms and more frequent freeze-thaw cycles. Creating more spaces for stormwaters to collect will reduce flooding during future storms.
A large stormwater pipe discharges into Sandrock Creek where it flows through Meadowlane Park. This outlet receives runoff from a 1.25-square-kilometre area of the neighbourhood. By adding stormwater storage to the neighbourhood, we would:
- Intercept runoff before it rushes into Sandrock creek
- Filter the stormwaters before they re-enter the creek
- Slowly release these filtered waters into the creek to prevent erosion
- Reduce the risk of flooding in nearby streets and downstream neighbourhoods
Stormwater master plan
In 2016, the City of Kitchener Council approved a stormwater master plan. This plan created a strategy to manage stormwater for the next 15 years. Through this plan, we learned that only 25% of runoff in the city is managed through stormwater facilities. This means that 75% of runoff from heavy rainfall and snow melt flows into storm sewers, contaminating local creeks.
The master plan identified initial concepts for projects to be installed throughout Kitchener. As we look at each project more closely, we will examine the technical feasibility of adjusting the designs to meet community needs.
To help us build these projects, we were awarded nearly $50 million from the Government of Canada through the Disaster Mitigation Adaptation Fund. Access to this funding means we can install needed stormwater measures at a reduced cost to the community much sooner than what would have been possible without the funding. There are requirements that we need to comply with, and those have placed an additional constraint on these projects.
We consulted city-wide on the stormwater master plan. That consultation met the needs of the master plan, but as we look closer at specific projects, more consultation is required.
Consultation for the Class Environmental Assessment
This project was approved by the Ministry of the Environment in 2016 as part of the Integrated Stormwater Management Master Plan (ISWM-MP). If community consultations lead to required project modifications, we will seek to amend the relevant planning tools -- in this case, the Class Environmental Assessment, under which the ISWM-MP was completed.
