Back to the drawing board for improvements to Clark Creek Drain in Huron-Kinloss

It's back to the engineer's drawing board to come up with alternatives for improvements to the Clark Creek Drain in Huron-Kinloss Township.

Neal Morris, drainage engineer of K. Smart and Associates Limited, presented his report to township council at its committee-of-the-whole meeting, Monday morning (Feb. 1). The primary purpose, he said, is to provide improvements and repairs to the watercourse that exists west of South Baseline Road in Lots 12 and 13, Lake Range, former Township of Huron. The work was initiated at the request of landowner Kitt Elmes.

The project would involve realigning 645 metres of the channel, said Morris, constructing four drop structures, consisting of steel sheet piles and cable concrete, and the construction of a low-flow channel crossing with twin 1,200-millimetre corrugated steel pipes. Also about 1,261 metres of the existing drainage ditch would be filled in and abandoned. Cost of the project would be $526,130.

In his report, drainage superintendent Grant Collins said there were concerns from the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority (SVCA) and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). The SVCA requested the addition of buffer strips along the length of the open ditch portions to improve water quality, which Collins found reasonable.

However, the DFO stated it is concerned that fish habitat is being removed by infilling part of the current drain with spoil from the excavation of the new drain.

"In my opinion, fish presently cannot reach this section of the drain, unless under flood conditions for there is a significant drop structure at the bridge on lower Lake Range Drive," stated Collins.

A meeting between Morris and the DFO, Jan. 28, in Burlington, which Collins also attended, resulted in the DFO stating the engineer's report is unacceptable, and requesting it be referred back to the engineer to provide further options for the repair. The DFO says the engineer's emphasis should be on preserving or creating potential future fish habitat for after the year 2060 while addressing the concerns for which he was originally appointed.

Collins' recommendation was for the committee to refer the report back to Morris for further work to accommodate the DFO’s and SVCA’s concerns, and address these concerns in the most reasonable manner with the least financial burden to the affected landowners.

"The DFO has stated it will not approve the barriers in the watercourse, so we cannot go ahead with this," said Morris, adding that meeting the DFO's requirements would double the cost of the project, making it a very expensive option.

"We can't do that," said councillor Jim Hanna.

"The DFO's focus is to remove any obstacle to the passage of fish," said Morris.

"I'm hoping to have the DFO out in a couple of weeks to look at the site and get a better perspective," said Collins. "I recommend the committee refer this back to the engineer for some other alternatives."

Morris said the SVCA has identified two top predator fish in the watercourse beside the lake. "The focus for the DFO now, is to encourage fish migration as far up the watercourse as possible."

One project landowner then quipped that it's the landowners who are up the creek for now.

Mayor Mitch Twolan said council has to petition the Ontario agriculture ministry to get these projects approved.

"The Drainage Act has to change," he said. "We have to work with the Ontario Federation of Agriculture and the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs on this. And all of us, including the DFO, have to be on the same page. It's so frustrating - the agriculture ministry wants to get these projects done, but the DFO is standing in the way."

Committee-of-the-whole agreed with Collins' recommendation, and the report will go back to Morris for further work, and come back to council with other options.