Plans are afoot to address Barrie’s stormwater flows.
Council gave final approval Monday night to the stormwater asset management plan, which identifies the operations, maintenance work and expansion of $1.25 billion worth of stormwater infrastructure in Barrie — including storm sewers, culverts, ponds, and watercourses.
This motion passed without discussion by council.
The stormwater asset management plan is designed to lessen the gap between what the city spends on stormwater management, and what it needs to spend.
Tom Reeve, the city’s senior asset management planning co-ordinator, has said there’s a large difference between what Barrie has historically been spending on stormwater management and what it needs to spend. If the city continued with historic spending levels, he said, the under-funding gap would be about $30 million annually.
That could now be reduced to approximately $11.7 million with the stormwater management asset plan.
It will cost $451 million to sustain the current level of stormwater services during the next 10 years — $232 million for growth and upgrades, $138 million for renewal, $65 million for maintenance and $16 million for pond clean-out. More than half of that total could be paid for by new development, but the city’s bill is still substantial.
Stormwater infrastructure is required to protect people and property from flooding. Under-spending on stormwater management increases the risk of flooding, infrastructure failure and environmental damage.
The city’s stormwater assets include infrastructure that can be seen - ponds, ditches, the water courses - and those unseen, such as storm sewers.
The physical condition of Barrie’s stormwater infrastructure is generally good, with 79 per cent considered in fair or good condition. This means the city has time to build financial reserves to fund storm sewer repair and replacement in the future when the assets reach end-of-life.
On average, Barrie’s sewers, culverts, and manufactured treatment devices still have approximately 75 per cent of service life remaining, based on material and age. The remaining life for stormwater ponds is estimated at less than 25 per cent. These ponds are used for flood control and function to reduce sedimentation prior to discharge into receiving waters, in order to maintain or restore acceptable water quality standards for protecting the natural environment.
Barrie’s stormwater ponds are a $100-million problem, according to city staff. More than 50 per cent are in poor or very poor condition, reflecting a historical lack of maintenance. The city has been working during the past decade to address this through the pond clean-out program, and must continue to ensure the problem does not get worse, staff say.
As part of its 2021 operating and capital budget the city has approved $1.5 million this year, and for the next three years, for stormwater treatment pond maintenance. The funding comes equally from the tax capital reserve and the federal gas-tax reserve.
