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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Lucknow Sentinel, 1986-01-15, Page 18HARRISTOh When you're curled up on the sofa in the comfort of your cozy family room, you probably don't think about it. Maybe you are too young to remember or, maybe you would sooner forget? The trickle of water is a pleasant and comforting sound, unless of course, that trickle turns into a pool of water in the basement of your house. Residents in the Town of Harriston may remember a time when homes, businesses, roads and vacant lots were left paralyzed for days, sometimes weeks by flood waters. These vacant lots have been developed and the buildings re- constructed, but the evidence of past and future potential flooding remains. Settlers were attracted to the river for convenience; a fresh supply of water and means of transportation were at their doorstep. Today, rive*,edge property may seem an attractive location for a home. The scenery can be spectacular, unfor- tunately not always in the most positive sense of the word. In Harriston, flood waters over top the river bank and spill out into residential sections of the Town. There is a natural low spot in, the Town, believed to be the original river bed. It's not surprising that the flood waters take this direction. As water levels rise, water backs up at bridges and again over tops the river banks to cause fur- ther flooding. The M.V.C.A. has evidence of flooding in the Town of Harriston dating back to 1918. In the seventies flooding persisted and concerned residents petitioned the M.V.C.A. to begin investigating alternatives to pro- tect the Town. The alternatives included an upstream storage reservoir, river diver- sion and dykes. None of these were economically feasible solutions to the problem. In the interim, building applications in the Harriston flood plain were a concern. How could the .vitality and future growth of the Town continue if the applications were not approved? FLOODCONTRIL PR How could the Authority approve these applications to build in any area that had a documented history of flooding? In recent years, Harriston has escaped the inconveniences and hard- ships of a flood. Lucky? Maybe, but luck does not protect a Town from the harsh realities of flooding. The potential for a major flood in Harriston has increased. Why? More wetlands (natural water storage areas) have been drained. There has been an increase in buried tile drainage and associated open dit- ches. Landowners have implemented a variety of means to remove water from their agricultural property as quickly as possible. This, in turn, may mean in- creased runoff and high water levels reaching peaks in the downstream communities. The Provincial Ministry of Natural Resources has published a document outlining the policies of flood plain management in Ontario: One of the Province's main objectives is to protect existing development within the flood plain wherever possible. Two thirds of the Town of Harriston is located in the flood plain. In 1981, Town Council requested the M.V.C.A. to study the Highway No. 9 bridge and conduit which presently' supports four stores. The conduit was determined to he in poor, structural condition. The search for an economically feasi- ble solution continued. The most cost effective solution en- suring an acceptable level of flood pro- tection includes: 1) replacing the Hwy. 9 bridge 2) improvements to the conduit sup-. porting the commercial buildings 3) excavating the river channel and constructing a low flow rock channel 4) constructing earth berms to build up the river bank to confine the flood- waters The regulatory standard of protec- tion for the Maitland watershed is the Regional Storm level or, flood protec- tion to a level that if 11 inches of water fell over a period of 48 hours, buildings on either side of the river would be safe from flooding. Although historical data from 1912 indicates river levels in the Benmiller area came close to the Regional Storm level, it is impractical for the flood con- trol berms in Harriston to be built to Town of Harriston, 1975. Efforts to reduce flooding in Harriston have com- menced with the initiation of the Harriston Flood Control Project. EC this standard. A flood protection level from a storm with a chance of occurring once in a year, formally known as the 1 in 100 year storm, will be attained upon com- pletion of the entire Harriston flood control projects. The Ministries of Natural Resources and Transportation and Communica- tions as well as the Town of Harriston and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority are all contributing to the project. There will be a return of two dollars in flood protection for every dollar spent. The new flood protection level and positive cost benefit ratio du- ly justify the project. The Federal and Provincial Govern- ments pay out millions of dollars in flood disaster relief each year. Today, building in the flood plain is strictly regulated to protect lives and property from the damages that could result from development in an area suscep- tible to flooding. A large portion of the Town of Har- riston is situated in the floodplain. For this reason, special policies for building in this area will have to be carefully considered. Flood proofing measures and/or elevating any new ad- ditions or buildings will ensure that the town's growth is not stifled, but rather that any new additions are built to in- corporate proper flood proofing measures. The Harriston Flood Control Project is multi -phased with the design engineering now complete. Con- struction .. of the new bridge, im- provements to the conduit, with chan- nel inlet and outlet improvements are scheduled to commence in the fall of 1986. This start up date was arranged so that neither downtown business nor summer traffic flow would be inhibited by construction. The Harriston Flood Control Project is a co-operative effort between the provincial and municipal governments. By working together, the municipality and the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority have ensured that the vitality and safety of this prosperous com- munity will be better protected from the perils of flooding. INTRODUCING: LES TERVIT, MVCA GENERAL MANAGER On November 4, 1985 Les Tervit, formally the General Manager of the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority, commenced his new position as General Manager of the Maitland Valley Conservation Authority. Bryan Howard, past General Manager assumed a position with the Ontario Heritage Foundation in September, as their Natural Heritage Co-ordinator. Mr. Tervit is a graduate of F.E. Madill Secondary School and Sir Sand- ford Fleming College, Lindsay, On- tario. He continued his education through correspondence at the Univer- sity of Waterloo and the University of Guelph with emphasis on environmen- tal and soil conservation studies. Les Tervit's first Authority position dates back to the early 1970's when he was employed as a summer student with the M.V.C.A. After graduating from Sir Sandford, Les was employed with the Saugeen Valley Conservation Authority as a Resource Technician for a period of four years. Since that time, Les worked as the Middlesex District Superintendent and the Extension Services Technician with the Upper Thames River Conservation Authority. He was employed with the Kettle Creek Conservation Authority as General Manager since 1981. Mr. Tervit has been extremely active with the Association of Conservation Authorities of Ontario and has served as the Chairman of both the Con- servation Area Regulations Subcom- mittee and the Agricultural Soil and Water Conservation Subcommittee. When asked why he applied for the position, Mr. Tervif responded, "The Maitland is a somewhat larger Authori- ty with a strong rural focus to its pro- grams. The area is one I'm certain 1 will enjoy working in." Les, his wife Kate and their eight month old son Jordan have recently relocated from Belmont to R.R. No. 2, Gorrie. Les Tervit should be familiar to some area residents. He is the son of George and Barb Tervit of R.R. No. 4, Wingham. zit Les Tervit MVCA in the position of General Manager. was recently hired by the