Media Release: Town Continuing to Try to Prevent Erosion and Sedimentation Runoff
Posted on 11/26/2019
Town of Stratford logoMedia Release: Town Continuing to Try to Prevent Erosion and Sedimentation Runoff

For Immediate Release: November 26, 2019

With recent ongoing rain events and an already saturated ground, residents of Stratford may have noticed that the some of the Town’s ponds and waterways have turned red from siltation in the past week. Work is continuing between the Town, its partners, including the Stratford Area Watershed Improvement Group, and others in the wider community to assess, mitigate and prevent these events from occurring. The Town has also previously applied for funding to rehabilitate the Kelly Pond watershed which includes Kelly Pond and Moore’s pond, based on recommendations from the Stratford Area Watershed improvement Group, and a committee established in the fall of 2018 to recommend what action needs to be taken. The Town also recognizes that more needs to be done to ensure that siltation from development activity does not end up in the watershed.

“Town staff and council members are very concerned any time a runoff event happens,” Mayor Steve Ogden stated. “Town staff are speaking with professional consultants to try to help identify what additional measures may need to be put in place to prevent them from happening in the future, and to determine whether they are related to construction activity in the Town or other actions. Depending on the outcome found through this process, the Town may have to consider if additional resources will be added, as part of the upcoming budget process, to help alleviate this issue in the future.”

In the winter of 2018 staff from the Town of Stratford, Town of Cornwall, Provincial Departments of the Environment and of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy, and the Stratford Area Watershed Group met to discuss what measures could be implemented to try and prevent erosion and sedimentation on active construction sites. The following are a list of items that have been implemented in the Town of Stratford to address this issue:

• Subdivision stage - During subdivision construction the developer is now required to hire a professional engineer to design and oversee an Erosion and Sedimentation Control Plan that must be followed throughout construction. The design engineer is also required to sign the Subdivision Road Agreement ensuring that they are aware of their responsibility during construction.
• Development permit stage - The Town of Stratford added a list of requirements for Erosion and Sedimentation Control During Construction which is signed by each developer who receives a permit from the Town generally stating that “All measures must be taken by the general contractor to prevent any sedimentation from leaving the site during construction”. (see attached document)
• The Town of Stratford sends out an email to all developers who have active permits within the Town ahead of any anticipated rainfall event measuring over 10mm, reminding developers to check their erosion and sedimentation measures in order to be proactive in trying to prevent runoff events from occurring.
• At any time a runoff event is reported to the Town of Stratford, it is followed up by a staff representative and, when required, is reported to the necessary provincial government departments such as the Department of Environment, Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy, or a provincial conservation officer.
• Ensuring that consultants hired to do Town work implement erosion and sediment control measures on town work sites.

These measures worked well all summer, even during some heavy rain events, so it is disappointing to Town officials to see the recent siltation. The Town is investigating the cause of these recent events to identify what failed and what is required to prevent them from happening in the future. As most residents are aware, all streets are owned by the Province of PEI in the Town of Stratford. Related stormwater management is also the responsibility of the provincial government and as the Town moves forward with speaking to consultants in this area, any information or obligation identified as being the responsibility of the Department of Transportation, Infrastructure and Energy will be provided to them.

“Any runoff event is taken very seriously by staff and council,” added Mayor Ogden. “Protecting our environment for today, and for the future, is of the upmost importance. We will continue to work with our partners, developers and with all levels of government to ensure that we are seen as leaders in this area. Our Town is poised for continued growth but we must also ensure that this growth is not at the expense of the environment”.

To view a copy of the Town of Stratford’s Development Permit ‘General Notes for Erosion and Sedimentation Control During Construction’ document, please click here.

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For more information please contact:

Wendy Watts, Community & Business Engagement Manager
Town of Stratford
T: (902) 569-1995
E: [email protected]