With a hot, dry summer like this one, flooding may not be in the forefront of our minds. However, for many residents of Peterborough and the Kawarthas the floods of past years — and the damage that they caused — are never far in our minds.
Over the past several years, Ontario has seen increased incidences of large storm events causing rivers to spill over their banks. Since the large flood in 2004, Peterborough has experienced a number of storm and snow melt events that have put people’s properties and livelihoods at risk.
To mitigate flooding when the next big storm hits, GreenUP, the City of Peterborough, and local residents — as part of a Green Communities Canada program, Rain Ready Peterborough — will be holding a series of public forums for people to share their opinions, ideas, and knowledge about flooding in their neighbourhoods.
The first Rain Ready Peterborough forum will be held at Prince of Wales Public School on Thursday, September 29, 2016 at 6 p.m. We encourage you to come and share your thoughts on how to mitigate flooding in our community.
Local knowledge is critical when it comes to understanding how flooding impacts a neighbourhood and how water flows across the landscape. We can understand how to divert runoff more effectively by understanding what people have experienced during previous storms.
In The Avenues, a low-lying flat neighbourhood in Peterborough, flooding is a risk. GreenUP, in partnership with community members of The Avenues, will be embarking on a quest to re-envision how rainfall is managed there over the next several months.
Flood mitigation plans must take into consideration the specific geography of each neighbourhood, along with the voices of residents to ensure that plans are region-specific. For example, a flood mitigation plan for The Avenues may not be the same as a plan for the south end of Peterborough.
Allowing residents to participate in flood mitigation plans will help tailor the strategies to the needs of people in their respective neighbourhoods.
GreenUP will also be partnering with community members to install and maintain eight rain gardens within The Avenues neighbourhood.
Rain gardens are a partnering of new and old ideas to manage rain where it falls.
Instead of channeling rainfall directly into storm sewers, the rain can be diverted into a depression in the ground that is filled with material to dissipate the water and allow it to soak into the ground.
Rain gardens can be populated with species of flowers and plants that are able to withstand the trials of both drought and heavy rain — and they look fantastic! Rain gardens may become a much more common sight in our neighbourhoods as municipalities explore new ways to deal with storm water runoff.
Climate change threatens to bring more rainfall and higher intensity storm events, so now is a crucial time to be discussing the role we all play in managing rainfall.
For more information about public forums, or to ask questions about water, rain, or flood-related issues, please contact Dylan Radcliffe, Water Programs Coordinator, by email at dylan.radcliffe@greenup.on.ca or by phone at 705-745-3238 ext. 217.
To learn more about the Rain Ready Peterborough program, please visit www.greenup.on.ca/rain. We are also accepting public comment on our interactive Peterborough Water: Community Mapping Page.
