The Rural Voice, 2000-05, Page 8IMF
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4 THE RURAL VOICE
Feedback
Drainage superintendents and
drain maintenance grants, came about
because of the many repair problems
discovered by the Select Committee
in their 1974 report. Prior to the
maintenance grant program, most of
the municipal drains were left to
deteriorate, because of apathy and
fear of high repair cost.
Time has proven that the township
drain superintendent has lowered
repair costs with timely inspections
and routine repairs.
If this maintenance program is not
continued, all of Ontario will suffer
the consequences of a damaged
drainage system. The results will be
lower agricultural production, which
will lead to fewer jobs, higher food
costs, and eventual high cost to
rebuild the system.
At the time of the study the tile
licensing act had been in use only a
short time, and so no
recommendations were made.
However, time has proven the value
of trained licensed contractors.
Prior to licensing, there were
many part-time operators installing
poor quality drainage systems in
Ontario. Often the farmer did not
realize the incompetence of the
contractors'until later (the next year
or so) when the tile was buried and
the money was spent. This not only
penalized the farmer, but the tile
drain industry, as a result of poor
production on the site.
The art of tile drainage requires a
knowledge of surveying soil and
product.
Surveying must determine the
slope of the land, the number of acres
and so the size of tile required.
Texture of the soil will determine the
depth and spacing. Many farmers and
contractors obtain this knowledge
with years of experience, but a basic
education in drainage, and surveying.
helps to speed the process. Because
of this, the Ontario government has
offered drainage short courses to
farmers and contractors, since the
early 1900s. Valuable as these
OMAFRA tests are, they did not
become mandatory to tile drainage
contractors, until licensing was
legislated in the early 1970s. Since
1973, all tile drain contractors in
Ontario must be licensed, along with