Your Meadowlane Park, your watershed

Thank you for all your questions and feedback. We apologize for not being able to respond very quickly. We want to let you know that we are overwhelmed with responses from residents, and we want to give each contact the attention it deserves.

Based on your contact with us we have updated the Frequently Asked Questions page with common questions and concerns. The page is organized by theme. We will continue to update this in the future.

Thank you to everyone who answered our survey so far. For those who have not yet had the chance to answer it, we have just extended the deadline to February 12, 2023.

Answer the survey

Changes to our decision-making process

In the fall and summer of 2022, we shared initial communications about stormwater management measures for the park. We are grateful for the community feedback received so far.

The community's response showed us that we hadn't realized the importance of the hill to the neighbourhood. The neighbourhood's concerns about the proposed Meadowlane Park stormwater pond alerted us to the importance of consulting the neighbourhood directly before making such significant changes to the park space.

We acknowledge that we didn’t consult enough before announcing that we would add a large pond to Meadowlane Park. Because of the community’s concerns, we asked our engineering consultants to slow things down and determine whether other stormwater measures are feasible.

We are responding to community concerns by slowing down our approach. Thanks for your patience as we take time to consider a wider range of stormwater measures for the park. For more information, please read about our current consultation process.

New project description

The project description on the Meadowlane Park Engage page has been updated to reflect the current direction. We also added another consultation phase to the project lifecycle. Thanks for your patience as we update the FAQ section to reflect these changes.

If you would like us to send you a copy of the old project description for comparison, please reach out to Bart Mazan, Design and Construction Project Manager (Sanitary and Stormwater Utilities) at bart.mazan@kitchener.ca or 519-503-1641

Update on field assessments

Our field assessments from the fall of 2022 will show us the depth of the water table and soil types at the park. This information informs our assessment of what stormwater designs are feasible at the park. We expect a technical report from engineering consultants on the feasibility of various design options in winter 2023.

Here is a current overview of our consultation process:

Winter 2023

We will host informal park conversations to share project information and hear the community’s concerns. Where feasible, we will incorporate those concerns into concept designs and present them to the community as options.

Spring 2023

We will host the first open house to seek the community’s feedback on design concepts. The community’s feedback will influence design decisions.

2023 or 2024

We will host the second open house to seek the community’s feedback on a final design. The community’s input will influence design details related to the landscaping and the plans to incorporate Pollinator Patch plants.

Before construction

We will host a third open house to share construction plans and answer questions about construction.

We invite the Meadowlane Park neighbourhood to drop by to learn more about the Meadowlane Park stormwater project.

Have a hot chocolate and learn about the proposed park changes. Share your thoughts and concerns. We will share information about how the community's concerns are impacting our decision-making process for this project so far. We will also have surveys available for you to complete.

We will be at Meadowlane Park on:

• Saturday, January 28, 10 am to 11:30 am
• Tuesday, January 31, 3:15 pm to 5 pm

Kids are welcome! Drop by anytime.

Please share the event flyer with your neighbour networks.

Thank you for subscribing for updates about the Your Meadowlane Park, your watershed project.

Our first survey is now open. Help us understand how you use Meadowlane Park and its amenities so we can best integrate the new stormwater ponds into the park space. With your input, we will create preliminary concepts that are relevant to the community. You will get to consider these design drafts and share your feedback when they are ready later in 2023. The survey is open until Jan. 30, 2023.

Answer the survey

Thank you for your continued interest in this project. We are nearing the end of the field assessment and monitoring phase. During the next engagement phase, we will open a survey to learn more about how the community uses Meadowlane Park. Stay tuned for updates in 2023.

• Improve the water quality of Sandrock Creek

• Improve aquatic habitat in Sandrock Creek

• Mitigate the severity of future flooding caused by climate change

If you have any questions, please contact Chris Nechacov, Design and Construction Project Manager, Chris.Nechacov@kitchener.ca, 519-741-2200 x 7148.

Geotechnical Investigation:

You may see heavy equipment such as an earth auger within the park in the next week or two. This is to see the conditions of the soil which is necessary to begin the design. If you have any questions, please post them to the Questions tab or reach out to the project team.

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.