Rennie's River residents wait and wait as decade-old plan to reduce flooding sits on the shelf

A decade-old plan to reduce flooding that regularly damages properties near Rennie's River in St. John's remainson hold because it hasn't been approved bythe Pippy Park Commission.

Intense rainfrequently causesflooding at about a dozen properties bordering the waterway.

For David Winter, who has lived on one of the properties for more than 30 years, it's a recurring nightmare.

"Probably six or seven times during that period I've experienced considerable flooding to my property and my home," he told CBC News in a recent interview.

More than a decade ago, the City of St. John's hired consultants to study the issue.

In its 2014 report, engineering and environmental design firm CBCL Limiteddocumented flooding in2001, 2004, 2005, 2008, 2010 and 2012.

Flooding happened again in September 2022 after post-tropical storm Earldropped more than 175 millimetres of rain on St. John's.

Residents have told CBC News theybelieve development upstream has increased the frequency and severity of flooding downstream. Theyblame subdivisions and malls that paved over wetlands that used to absorb water upstream for example, Winter said, "removing bogs and marshes upstream, along Leary's Brook, and allowing the storm water to flow from the infrastructure that has been built along the waterway, such as the university, the health sciences complex, to flow directly into the river and not being retained by the bogs that used to control the flow into the river itself."

Some residents have also saidit's been compounded by heavier storms caused by climate change.

After receiving the consultant's report the city proposed a$5-million plan to build a concrete structure, called a weir, at the outlet of Long Pond. The weir, a sort of dam,isdesigned to regulate the release of water from the pond and prevent flooding downstream.

St. John's Mayor Danny Breen supports the proposal.

"My opinion and council's opinion is that the weir is important acritical part of flood mitigation downstream and we are anxious to get it approved so we can begin construction," said Breen.

The city's planwas released to proceed by the provincial Department of Environment and Climate Change in May 2022 but the decision was conditional on the project receiving approval from the Pippy Park Commission.

The commission has so far refused to approve the plan, which would see the flood mitigation structure built within the park's boundaries.

WATCH | What's holding up a flood-mitigation plan for Rennie's River?

Why a flood prevention plan for Rennies River is jammed up

1 year ago

Duration 2:36

People who live near Rennie's River in St. John's say theyve waited long enough. A $5-million project to prevent flooding on their properties was greenlighted by the provincial government last year. The CBCs Mark Quinn asks why its still on hold.

Walking trails around Long Pond are already damaged by occasional flooding. The commission believes the weir will make matters worse, says chair Sean Kelly.

"It's going to increase the amount of water in the pond beyond even some of the largest floods that we have had. So we'll have more flooding and more damage all the way along," said Kelly.

Talks among the province, St. John's and the Pippy Park Commission are ongoing, but Kelly says the commission doesn't believe the weir will even fix the problem it aims to address.

"We're prepared to work with the city to find a way to stop flooding downstream but we just don't think that as it stands this is the solution to that," said Kelly.

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