Drainage

Municipal Drains

The Drainage Act provides for the construction and management of many of the communal drainage systems in rural Ontario. "Municipal drains", are vital to the communities, roads and surrounding lands in rural Ontario. They reduce flooding, improve safety and reduce property damage.

New Drain

Landowners in an area requiring drainage can sign a Petition for Drainage Works, which will set in motion a project to create a new municipal drain. This falls under Section 4 of the Drainage Act.

Repair and Improvement

If an existing drain requires significant repair and as a result the repair includes changing the original drain's infrastructure in a way that is different from the original engineered plans, an application should be filed under Section 78 - Repair & Improvement. Examples of this include widening, lengthening, deepening a drain, etc.

Maintenance and Repair

The most common application is one that falls under Section 74 of the Drainage Act, which is your basic Maintenance & Repair work. This usually includes work such as clean outs, removal of beavers/dams, repairing/replacing tile and generally repairing the existing drain in a way that does not vary from the drain's original construction.

Drain Forms

Petition Form for a new drain - Section 4

Notice of Request for Drain Improvement for an existing drain - Section 78.

Notice of Drain Maintenance and/or Repair - Section 74.

For information about Municipal Drains, please refer to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.

Drainage Legislation/Factsheets

Residents often have questions about the municipal drain process, which can be a long process with many steps. The Ontario Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Agribusiness (OMAFA) has many fact sheets about municipal drains to assist land owners.

Sometimes when a municipal drain is being proposed other landowners have an objection to it or to the portion they are required to pay. OMAFA has information on the different Drainage Act Appeals that may be available to you