The people living in the tucked-away corner of Minet’s Point are getting their flooding problem dealt with as the city looks at fixing Whiskey Creek.
An environmental assessment (EA) has been initiated to find alternative solutions to reduce the frequency of flooding at the Minet's Point creek.
Both public and private property within the Whiskey Creek floodplain experience regular flooding between The Boulevard and Kempenfelt Bay.
Stan Street has lived on his Brennan Avenue property for around 30 years, before the City of Barrie took it over from Innisfil.
Street says it's about time. He tells BarrieToday he has lost property because of the flooding eroding the creek.
“I told them when they put the culvert in 20 to 25 years ago that it was facing my property. It has taken about four feet away from my property over time and I finally told the city they had to do something about it or reimburse me,” said Street.
The issue is the flow of storm water that comes down the creek and is supposed to flow under The Boulevard, through the culvert pipe and steadily down to Kempenfelt Bay.
But the problem is the water isn’t completely making it through the culvert pipe and is filling up over the streets and onto the main roads of the community.
“There are times that small trees come through this creek; they dam up and the water starts building and overflowing,” Street said. “I own the two properties here and my house is farther away from the creek where there’s no flooding now, but it used to when I had a cottage closer to the creek.”
Street says a couple weeks ago there was so much water on the road that people were out on boards surfing and “messing around.”
Coun. Jim Harris, whose ward includes this area of the city, says there has been flooding there for some time and that staff will evaluate ways to correct the issue.
“The solution will likely involve a combination of channel improvements, widening the existing creek, and larger culverts to contain storm water, rather than allowing it to spill over land and roads,” Harris said. “The EA has started and residents will receive notices for some input.
"Once it is complete, staff would proceed to design and then construction.”
Alternative solutions may also include changes to the existing road, creek culverts and other infrastructure in the area to mitigate flooding downstream of The Boulevard to Kempenfelt Bay.
There will be an opportunity for the public and stakeholders to review the alternatives under consideration and provide input and comments. This is anticipated to take place during the winter of 2021. However, the format will depend on COVID-19 pandemic restrictions in place at that time.
Project information can be viewed on the city’s website.
