Photo Credit: Township of Mississippi Mills, Website
County Road 29 in Pakenham continues to flood whenever the area receives significant rainfall or when the levels of the Mississippi River rise above a certain point.
There have been more than a dozen flooding incidents on this stretch of road running under the Algonquin Trail bridge over 7 years and August 3rd just added to the tally.
Mississippi Mills Mayor Christa Lowry released a statement on August 7th in response to the repeated issue and concerns from residents. Lowry shares her frustration with the ongoing situation “I understand why people are frustrated. I am frustrated too.” she says in her statement.
Lowry goes on to say “County Road 29 and its drainage infrastructure fall under Lanark County’s jurisdiction. Much of the land where water flows down the mountain is privately owned, and there are no municipal drains on that side of the mountain.”
Lanark County Warden Richard Kidd spoke with MBC News and says the answer is to petition to have a municipal drain installed.
However, it’s not as simple as that. In order to have a municipal drain installed, a third party engineer must come in and review the entire process.
In her statement, Lowry says that a provincial file connected to the watershed that remains unresolved. “…updates and progress on the file have been actively sought, including through MPP John Jordan’s office. While this is only one piece of a much larger puzzle, it is an important piece.”
Warden Kidd goes on to explain that both Lanark County and the Township of Mississippi Mills will do everything they can to curb this issue, but it requires collaboration on all levels of government.
You can read Mayor Lowry’s entire statement on the township’s website.
(Written by: Bob Kubbinga)
