Municipal Drains

For over 100 years, Municipal Drains have been used to improve drainage for farmland, remove water from roads, residential lots and other properties. These drains are built under the Drainage Act. 

Getting a Municipal Drain

Approval for the construction of a Municipal Drain is a multi-step process. Please review the steps below to learn more.

If a landowner needs better drainage, they must submit a Petition for Drainage to the Municipality. This falls under Section 4 of the Drainage Act.

The petition must be signed by: 

  • The majority of property owners in the area that requires drainage, or
  • The property owners that represent at least 60% of the land in the area requiring drainage, or 
  • The engineer, road superintendent or person having authority over a road requiring drainage

The "area requiring drainage" is the area within a watershed with a drainage problem or need for drainage outlet - and is not the full watershed.

If the Petition is approved, an engineer is hired to study the existing drainage problem and recommend a solution. The solutions outline in the engineer’s report will explain how the costs will be shared among landowners who benefit from the drain. Engineers consider a variety of factors in determining how the costs of municipal drains should be shared among property owners. Some of these factors include: 

  • The benefit that the drain provides to the land; 
  • The amount of land within the watershed of the drainage system;
  • The amount of water contributed by the land (land use and soil type); 
  • The distance the land is from the drain. 

Appeals to the report can then occur.

After all appeals are settled, Council passes a by-law adopting the engineer's report, giving legal authority and responsibility to build the drain.

Frequently Asked Questions

Benefits of having a Municipal Drian on your property will vary based on a number of factors including: elevation, the quantity of water to be drained from the land, the distance from the municipal drain, and the presence or absence of other existing drains, natural courses and other factors.

A municipal drain may benefit a property owner by raising the value of the property making it more marketable, by increasing the productivity of the land and by preventing water from entering on to it.

Most routine drain work, like clearing blockages, removing beaver dams or fixing broken tile, is done under Section 74 of the Drainage Act. This type of work keeps the drain functioning as originally designed.

If major changes are needed, like widening or deepening the drain, a formal request under Section 78 must be made to the municipal clerk. These changes go beyond basic repairs and may require updated engineering plans.

Repair and maintenance costs are shared among the landowners who benefit from the Drain.

The Municipality is responsible for maintaining the municipal drain on behalf of the community of property owners. The Municipality will periodically arrange to enter onto your property and undertake any necessary work.

As a property owner, it is your responsibility to report any problems to the Drainage Superintendent. Do not store materials such as brush, wood or other floatable material near the drain; in a storm they could float away and block the drain. All municipal drains eventually connect with a lake, river or stream. Therefore, do not direct septic system waste, barnyard and manure storage run-off or other pollutants or residential waste directly to these drains.

The costs of maintenance are assessed to the property, not the property owner. The property continues to benefit from the maintenance of the municipal drain regardless of who the owners of the property are. The invoice is directed to the owners of the property at the time of billing out the final costs.

Under Section 84 of the Drainage Act, a drain can be abandoned, in whole or in part, by petition. The petition to request abandonment of an area must be submitted to the Drainage Superintendent.

In order for the petition to be considered it must be representative of and supported by the signatures of 75% of the landowners in the benefit property area. The petition should include the printed names and signatures of each property number followed by the roll number, lot number, and concession number.

Drainage Projects

Chenier-Jeaurond Drain Plan

Chenier-Jeaurond Drain Engineer's Report

Chenier-Jeaurond Drain Plan Engineer's Report, Addendum

 

Other Drainage Systems

Many drainage systems are considered private, meaning the construction and maintenance is the responsibility of the property owner. These drainage systems can be in the form of ditches, buried pipe, or grassed channel.  

Water from private drains cannot flow into roadside ditches without municipal approval. All drains must lead to a sufficient outlet like a natural watercourse, a municipal drain or an outlet on the owner's land.

Before starting any drainage work, property owners must contact the local Conservation Authority and possibly the Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry to check if permits are needed. Work near Provincially Significant Wetlands (within 120 metres) requires special approval and may need a wetland impact study. No drainage work is allowed inside the wetland.

The Township offers tile drainage loans to qualified applicants in conjunction with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA)

Loan requests cannot exceed 75% of the total cost of the project and all works must be carried out in accordance with the Agricultural Tile Drainage Installation Act. All tile loans have 10-year terms, and repayments are made annually.

The provincial government sets the program interest rate at a competitive level. This rate is fixed for the full term of the loan, regardless of changes in market interest rates. The interest rate is calculated annually, not semi-annually, as is done by most financial institutions. 

The application process is quite simple. Loan application forms must be submitted to the municipal council. Once council approves the application, the owner arranges to have the work completed by a licensed tile drainage contractor. Once a month, the municipality prepares loan documents to send to OMAFRA in the amount of all the loans for that month. After processing these documents, OMAFRA issues a cheque to the municipality, which distributes the loan funds to each individual applicant.

The municipality collects the loan repayments from the owner and remits them to OMAFRA.

For more information regarding the Tile Loan Program, visit the Provincial Tile Loan Program page. 

Tile Drainage Loan Application

 

Mutual Agreement Drains are private drains constructed and cost-shared through an agreement between two or more property owners. The mutual agreement drain is binding on the property, regardless of ownership. A copy of the agreement is registered on each of the property title(s) and is considered binding on any present or future owners of the lands. 

More information is available in OMAFRA factsheet, Mutual Agreement Drains and online at ontario.ca/drainage and search for the Drainage eReference Tool.

Under the Ditches and Watercourses Act,1960, the engineer’s report “awarded” sections of a constructed drain to adjoining property owners, including road authority. The owners of these properties are responsible for keeping their section of the drain maintained and repaired. As with private drains, property owners wishing to repair or maintain an award drain need to contact environmental agencies (Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources and Forestry, local Conservation Authority) to determine if any authorizations are required.

Contact Us

Township of North Glengarry
3720 County Road 34, R.R. 2
Alexandria, Ontario, K0C 1A0
Phone: 613-525-1110
Fax: 613-525-1649

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