Collingwood, ON – The Master Stormwater Management Model Report which was received by the Development & Operations Services Standing Committee on February 14th is the first phase of a two-phase process to identify stormwater infrastructure improvements for the conveyance and storage of stormwater and watercourses within the municipality.
The technical report is the culmination of invaluable analysis of the Town’s water flows. This Stormwater model provides us with important information on how our infrastructure can support varying storm situations and will help inform our next steps to mitigate risks including flood zones.
The Town retained Greenland International Consulting Ltd. (Greenland) to complete a Master Stormwater Management Model Report in 2019. Greenland is well qualified for this project as they specialize in water resource engineering.
The purpose of the study was to complete an existing conditions Master Stormwater Management (SWM) model consisting of the existing storm sewer drainage system and multiple watercourses that traverse the Town of Collingwood limits. The report assesses the conveyance capacity of the minor systems (flow within storm sewers), major systems (overland flow over roads and ditches), and riverine systems (flow within creeks and rivers).
The extreme storm scenarios in the report are unlikely events to occur in any given year. Under these events, storm sewers are not inherently designed to carry all the water from these storms, however the roads are used to convey this water downstream. It is common and expected to see water on roads during or after an extreme weather event. The Town will use this information to assess whether there is adequate capacity in the sewers and roads to carry this water safely downstream.
Next steps include the Town identifying priority projects to address deficiencies projected by the modelling. This will commence in 2022 through a municipal class environmental assessment master planning process. Class EA projects assess problems and risks, identify potential solutions, and gain feedback from the public and stakeholders on those solutions. Implementing those recommendations will form part of future Town projects, including capital works. The Town is starting this next assessment now to create a long-term strategy for the management of water in existing and new-growth areas.
