Township of Perth East

Glenn Schwendinger, Chief Administrative Officer

P.O. Box 455, 25 Mill Street East

Phone- (519)
595-2800
Milverton, Ontario N0K 1M0 Fax-
(519) 595-2801

Email:
gschwendinger@pertheast.on.ca

February 4, 2009

Ms. Brenda Jamison, P. Eng. Charles Organ C.E.T.

Consultant Project Manager MTO South Western Region
TSH Project Manager
300 Water Street Planning and Design Section
Whitby, ON L1H 9J2 659 Exeter Road
Brenda.Jamieson@aecom.com London ON N6E 1L3
Chuck.Organ@ontario.ca
VIA EMAIL

Re: Highway 7 & 8 Transportation and Corridor Planning and Class EA Study
_____________________________________________________________________________

At its regular meeting held on February 3rd, 2009, the Council of the Township of Perth East
discussed the issue of the ongoing Highway 7 & 8 Transportation and Corridor Planning and
Class EA Study. At this meeting, the Township of Perth East received a delegation from the
Agricultural Business Community (ABC) of Perth East, Perth South, and Wilmot West.
After consideration of the information presented by the MTO at its recent Public Information
Centres, the ABC delegation, and considerable discussion by members of Council, the Township
of Perth East would like to respectfully request that the MTO and its consultant considering the
following comments which have been grouped into two main categories.
Drainage

The maintenance and provision of appropriate drainage in our community is critical to the
continued success of our extensive agricultural businesses on the prime agricultural lands located
within the study area as well as our transportation networks.
Municipal Drains
The study area for this project contains significant number of Municipal Drains (as per the
Drainage Act) which convey existing flows to legal outlets throughout the area. The contributing
areas for these drains may extend in many cases well beyond the study area. All costs for these
drains are allocated on a proportional basis to the property owners and municipality based on
their contributing areas. There is a significant concern on the municipality’s part that the
construction of the new highway could significantly impact local drainage in terms of quantity
and containment of flow, alteration of current flow paths, and access to legal outlet. Sizing of the
current infrastructure (paid for by the municipality and land owners) is appropriate based on the
current need. Increases in the rate and volume of flow would very likely have a negative impact
on this important infrastructure without significant improvements and significant costs. Up to
date mapping indicating the location of municipal drains are available from municipal staff.

Private Drains
Additionally, it is the Township’s understanding that the study area for this project contains
significant number of Private Drains which convey existing flows to legal outlets throughout the
area. The contributing areas for these drains as well may extend in many cases well beyond the
study area. All costs for these drains are incurred under private agreements between land
owners. As stated with regards to the municipal drains above, there is a significant concern on
the municipality’s part that the construction of the new highway could significantly impact local
drainage in terms of quantity and containment of flow, alteration of current flow paths, and
access to legal outlet. Sizing of the current private infrastructure (paid for by the land owners) is
appropriate based on the current need. Increases in the rate and volume of flow would very
likely have a negative impact on this important infrastructure without significant improvements
and significant costs.
Tile Drains
It is the Township’s understanding that a very large portion, of the agricultural lands within the
study area are systematically tiled. The maintenance and provision of this private tile drainage is
critical to the high productivity of these lands. The configuration and flow directions for these
tile drains are heavily governed by both topography and access to outlet. Maintenance of all tile
drainage of these lands is essential.
Traffic Volumes and Patterns
A key component of the undertaking is a proper assessment of the current and projected traffic
volumes and patterns within the study area. The Township acknowledges the opportunity for
input and discussion that Perth East and its municipal partners have had with the MTO and its
consultant on this issue dating back to October 2008. There are differing impacts of this project
on different areas and based on the discussions we have participated in to this point, it appeared
that there were differing views and concerns among various municipalities with respect to the
projected traffic volumes and patterns within the study area. It is the Township’s understanding
through very recent discussions that these differing views and concerns may have been resolved.
Due to the importance of this particular aspect of the undertaking and its impact on the project,
the Township is in consultation with its municipal partners in this regard and reserves comments
for the near future.
Comments with respect to Traffic Volumes and Patterns that the Township is prepared to submit
at this time include the following:
a. A significant volume reduction is noted in the presented material with respect to traffic
volumes within Perth County as opposed to the adjacent Region of Waterloo. While
there may be reasonable explanations for some of this reduction, there are still some
questions at this point. As part of the Township’s ongoing operations and discussions
with its local municipal partners, significant traffic volumes and volume increases have
been noted on roads adjacent to and or parallel to the existing corridor. The Township
will be submitting further comments in this regard.

b. During the past year, the main corridor into Stratford (from the east) was restricted due to
construction. This had a significant impact on traffic in the surrounding area. As stated
above, as part of the Township’s ongoing operations and discussions with its local
municipal partners, significant traffic volumes and volume increases were noted on local
or alternate roads. These increased volumes have been noted to continue on these
 alternate roads even though construction with Stratford has been completed for some
time. The Township will be submitting further comments in this regard.

c. Configuration of the highway and the resultant impacts on the local road networks are of
key importance to the Township. Essential municipal operations in the area include road
maintenance, snow removal, waste collection and the provision of Emergency services
(fire, EMS). Perth County has worked very hard on providing appropriate response times
with EMS for the area. It is essential that the ultimate configuration decided upon
maintains appropriate access and routes for EMS all municipal services.
Recommendations
1. Drainage is a serious municipal concern for this project, and the Township formally
requests that assurance by the Province will be provided to the municipality and land
owners, that before any approval of the selected route, that surface water volumes from
the proposed route are determined to be manageable and not disruptive to all municipal
drains. Assurance is needed that all surface water from existing agricultural lands and
municipal roadways can be brought to sufficient outlet as currently takes place.
2. It is the Township’s view that during the design process of the highway that each existing
municipal drain impacted by the highway project, that the municipality should appoint an
engineer under the Drainage Act to investigate the impacts of the highway project on the
municipal drain, specify in the engineer’s report any necessary changes to the drain and
ensure that the drain has the capacity to accommodate the additional flows. The MTO
should be required to pay the full cost of this work including all engineering and all
necessary construction costs (if required) as the current infrastructure meets the current
needs.
3. Similarly it is the Township’s view that MTO cover all costs for every adjacent
landowners whose private drains may be affected by the selected route to facilitate them
in selecting and hiring the services of a tile drainage contractor, licensed under the
Agricultural Tile Drainage Installation Act, to assess and resolve any potential impacts on
private drainage systems including laterals, ditches, culverts, sub-mains and other items
associated with any potential new drainage demands.
4. While there are numerous municipal drains in the area, it is possible that the additional
runoff generated by this project may create areas that have no suitable drainage outlet
into an existing municipal drain or areas in which the capacity of the existing municipal
drains may be exceeded. In those situations, MTO must not be permitted to direct their
water onto the adjoining land. In situations such as this, The Township requests assurance
from the province that the MTO will be required to petition under the Drainage Act for a
drainage system that will properly drain the water generated from the new highway. In
the event that a petition by the MTO results in alterations to existing drains, all costs
should be born by the MTO.
5. The Township of Perth East recommends that the MTO meet and consult with the
Drainage Superintendents for the Township of Perth East, Perth South and Wilmot.
6. The Township further requests that in the event that alterations to a Municipal Drain are
deemed necessary, that individual assessments on the resultant maintenance schedules are
not adversely impacted by over sizing required by the highway.
Respectfully submitted,

Glenn Schwendinger
Chief Administrative Officer