Mark Gerretsen, member of parliament for Kingston and the Islands, and Bryan Paterson, mayor of the City of Kingston, have announced funding for two disaster mitigation initiatives in Kingston, Ontario.
“By investing in these two important disaster mitigation projects, we are helping better protect Kingston residents against flooding and shoreline erosion while also greatly reducing the costs of recovery following extreme weather events,” said Mark Gerretsen, member of parliament for Kingston and the Islands.
The first project involves separating the combined sanitary and storm sewers in the city’s historic downtown core to help protect residents from the effects of significant weather events. The project will see the addition of stormwater drainage controls in established neighbourhoods and the redesign of drainage paths to help manage flooding. Once completed, this project will help protect over 31,000 Kingston residents against flooding, reducing the number of people directly affected by over 80 per cent and the number of residents without essential services by approximately 90 per cent. Ultimately, this project will strengthen Kingston’s resilience to flooding while reducing the impact on the local environment and economy.
The second project will see the Lake Ontario/Cataraqui River shoreline better protected from erosion. This stretch of shoreline is of critical importance for the City of Kingston given its location within six river and stream watersheds. The project will build 2,140 linear metres of sloping rock structure and repair and enhance 1,052 linear metres of shore wall. Once completed, this project will improve and protect critical infrastructure and the community’s quality of life along the waterfront.
“We are delighted that the Government of Canada is committing more than $20 million towards disaster mitigation projects in Kingston,” said Bryan Paterson, mayor of the City of Kingston. “We are expected to see an increase in the severity of weather events as a result of climate change. As a city, we’re proactively planning for these events and we have already been recognized as having the best municipal climate action plan in Canada. These funds will help us do even more to protect our shorelines and sewer infrastructure!”
For the sanitary and storm sewer separation project, the Government of Canada is investing $10.4 million through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, and the City of Kingston is contributing $15.6 million. For the shoreline erosion protection project, the Government of Canada is investing over $9.8 million through the Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund, and the City of Kingston is contributing over $14.7 million.
