The Municipality of Chatham-Kent has approximately 4,100 municipal drains, with an estimated total length of 4,000 kilometres. The Municipality's drainage staff manages approximately 550 maintenance projects and 45 capital construction projects each year. Municipal drains are not funded by the General Tax Levy. They are funded by all properties that use the drain, including private landowners, roadways and utilities. For more information on municipal drains, visit Municipal Drains Ontario.
All work is completed under the framework of the Provincial Drainage Act and must also consider guidelines established by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO)and the Endangered Species Act, the local conservation authorities and the Ministry of Natural Resources (MNR). The Agricultural Drainage Infrastructure Program has more details on the Drainage Act and ADIP.
Chatham-Kent Drainage Projects
For information on the Drainage Act Process, see below. For more information on current Drainage projects, please visit Chatham-Kent Drainage Projects.
Do you have any questions or concerns regarding Municipal Drains?
Call us at 3-1-1, visit a Municipal Service Centre or Open a Service Request online anytime .
Mapping
For an overview of Municipal Drains within the Municipality of Chatham-Kent, please view our Chatham-Kent Drainage Map
Drainage History & Statistics
There are approximately 130 pumping stations in Chatham-Kent. Most are located in the Communities of Dover and Tilbury East.
The Forbes Pump in Tilbury East was constructed around 1875 and was the first mechanically powered pump. The brick-lined Tunnel Relief Drain was constructed in Romney in 1911. It is six (6) feet in diameter and approximately 1,500 feet long and outlets into Lake Erie.
The Agricultural and Rural Development Act (ARDA) provided funding through the federal, provincial and local governments in the late 1960s and early 1970s to construct a system of dykes and embankments along Lake St. Clair and part of the Thames River.
The Rivard Pumping Works was constructed in the late 1980s and drains over 33,000 acres throughout the Communities of Dover and Chatham Township. It is believed to be the largest drainage-pumping scheme by area in Canada.
The McGregor Creek Dam and Diversion Channel were constructed to serve as a bypass for floodwaters around South Chatham. It was completed in 1999 at a cost of approximately $11.5 million. This project was funded through the Lower Thames Valley Conservation Authority, local governments and the Ministry of the Environment.
The Darcy McKeough Dam and Diversion was constructed in the 1970s to protect against flooding in the Wallaceburg and Dresden areas.
Overview of the Drainage Act Process When a drainage project is initiated, the Municipality appoints a Drainage Engineer to prepare a report for the municipal drain, in accordance with the regulatory requirements of the Province.
Before the report is approved and a bylaw is created, a public meeting is held with the landowners in the watershed, and the report is considered through a minimum of two meetings of the Municipality's Drainage Board.
