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