Drainage Engineering Services
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Serving Ottawa and Beyond
Based in Almonte, Ontario, we proudly serve Ottawa and the surrounding communities, including Kanata, Carp, Stittsville, Manotick, Carleton Place, Dunrobin, Kinburn, and Richmond.
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After doing some research online, I was brought to Alan and Shade Group with a project to extent our backyard and clean up a ton of brush, deadfall and unhealthy trees. Alan was an absolute pleasure to deal with from start to finish! Project was priced right, started and finished on time and without delays.
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Drainage Engineering Services under the Drainage Act
Have you been told you need to update an assessment schedule?
Or perhaps you have been told you need to contact a Drainage Engineer. We can help! Shade Group is pleased to offer Drainage Engineering services. Our staff are well versed in the Drainage Act and are prepared and excited to help you address your needs. Whether you are undertaking a severance or looking to develop, we are here to help.
The first thing you may be wondering is “what is the Drainage Act” and “what does this have to do with my project”?
What is the Drainage Act?
The Drainage Act is legislation that is unique to Ontario. The Drainage Act was developed as an alternative to Common Law for addressing drainage challenges. For more information on the Drainage Act, we recommend you review this Fact Sheet, prepared by the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs: OMAFRA Fact Sheet. Additional resources have been provided at the end of this post.
Under the current adopted Drainage Act, there are two types of drains; Mutual Agreement Drains and Petition Drains (also commonly referred to as Municipal Drains). For the purposes of this post, we will focus on Petition Drains.
What is a petition drain?
Petition Drains are drainage works petitioned for, developed, constructed and maintained under the democratic procedure of the Drainage Act. A Drainage Engineer is hired to assist through the process, including, but not limited to, the preparation of a design solution and developing a report that outlines all applicable details associated with the solution, including the distribution of costs. The costs associated with the design solution are paid by the landowners who benefit from the solution – both directly (e.g. watercourse on their property) and indirectly (e.g. surface water eventually ends up in the receiving watercourse). Costs are also assessed back to any benefiting utility or municipal network such as roads, utility corridors, etc.
The different Sections of the Act
Drainage Engineers are appointed to prepare new design solutions, but also to update design solutions or their associated reports. For example, if you are looking to undertake a severance, and your property is encompassed within the watershed of an existing Petition Drain, you may be presented with a condition that notes you must first hire an engineer to update the assessment schedule of the impacted Petition Drain. We can help! The Drainage Act, under Section 65, allows for small changes to existing adopted reports to account for changes such as severances or changes in land use (e.g., farm land converted to industrial use).
Alternatively, perhaps you need to make changes to the existing Petition Drain due to flooding or changes in Land Use. Under Section 78 of the Drainage Act, a landowner or municipality may request changes to an existing adopted system to make improvements.
Shade Group would be pleased to assist you with your Drainage Engineering needs, whether you are looking to solve an existing surface water problem, or looking to update an existing adopted report as a condition of your development, we have the resources and experience to help.
Please contact us today to talk more about how we can help!
For more information on the Drainage Act, Petition Drains or drainage problems, please refer to the various Fact Sheets developed by OMAFRA.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Drainage Act, and why does it matter to me?
The Drainage Act is a provincial law in Ontario that assists in resolving drainage issues, particularly between adjacent properties or where surface water crosses property boundaries. It may apply to you if you are building, farming, or dealing with flooding. We help landowners understand their place in the system and what to do about it.
Do I need a drainage engineer, or can I handle this myself?
In most cases, the Act needs a qualified engineer that’s chosen by the municipality. Whether it involves a severance, moving a ditch or addressing flooding or erosion, a drainage engineer will have to design and revise an Engineer’s Report. In general, the Drainage Act does not allow landowners to DIY any of the associated work.
What’s a Petition Drain, and who pays for it?
A Petition Drain is a common drainage system recognized under the Act. It is engineered by a licensed engineer and funded by all beneficiaries, including private landowners, municipalities, and utility companies. A Drainage Engineer would do the engineering and determine how costs are divided.
I’m changing land use or doing a severance. Do I need a new report?
Maybe. When you change the use of your property or divide it into smaller parts, and your property is located in a Municipal Drain watershed, you are likely to require a new assessment. Depending on how old the existing Engineer’s Report is for the municipal drain in question – the Township might be able to handle this without an engineer.
How long does this whole process take?
Honestly, it varies. Some updates require a few weeks, and other projects might be years depending on approvals required from outside agencies; or the complexity of the project. That is why we always suggest an early start-up—particularly when drainage is linked to a development deadline.
What if I’ve already started work without a drainage report?
It occurs more frequently than you would imagine. When you have started working, and someone complains—or a municipality intervenes—we can get you going again. The sooner you call, the more you can do to fix things before fines or stop orders are issued.
What Our Clients Are Saying
What Our Clients Are Saying
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