Sudbury's Flour Mill area seeks flooding solution

People in flood-prone parts ofSudburyare calling on the city to find a better way to contain the waters of Junction Creek.

ClaudeCharbonneausaid he and his Flour Mill neighbours are tired of worrying about water every spring.

He said his part of the neighbourhood serves as a kind of holding tank for floodwaters, as the storm sewers under homes fill up when the creek swells.

Charbonneauwants the city to find a way to contain the waters in the nearby Ponderosa marsh or further up stream.

"In this day and age, they have the smarts and they know how to retain this water someplace else," Charbonneau said."So, we're looking for them to come to our help."

He and other Flour Mill residents have formed a citizens committee, under the leadership of their city councillorJoscelyneLandry-Altmann.

She says the flooding this spring was the last straw. Shesaid it's time to find some short-term and long-term solutions, even if the bill to taxpayers runs into the millions of dollars.

"It will be expensive," said Landry-Altmann. "But you know, it's always good to spread the wealth in other parts of the city."

The city does have about $3 million earmarked for Junction Creekflood-proofing, including monies set aside in past and futureu budgets.

However, general manager of infrastructure services TonyCecutti, said much of that money will be spent studying the problem.

"I wouldn't believe that would be able to solve all of the problems related to Junction Creek and flooding," Cecutti said at a recent city council meeting.

He expects a report outlining some of the flood-proofing possibilities to be back before city council in about a year.

City engineers have already proposed a flood-proofing plan for a different part of the Flour Mill neighbourhood.

Mountain Street residents have complained that the hilltop Sunrise Ridge development above them has lead to wet basements and flooded streets in recent years.

In response, city engineers proposed a multi-million dollar plan including a flood wall and a drainage channel which would funnel water away from Mountain Street and into the Ponderosa swamp.

Hydrologist Sig Kirchhefer, who has studied water flow in the area, warned against that plan.

"You're dumping it into the Ponderosa area and you're flooding somebody else," he said.
"So, you have to take care of your own problems, rather than pass it on the next person down stream."

Kirchhefer said there is no evidence that the flood-proofing measures the city has put in place are actually reducing flows in Junction Creek. He said in general, the growth of the city has lead to more water than ever running through the waters