The Town of Teulon is assessing its drainage infrastructure following the historic June 9-10 rainfall event after municipal systems were pushed to their limits by record amounts of water.
While drainage channels, culverts and the sanitary sewer system experienced significant pressure, CAO Chris Yuen said no major municipal infrastructure failed during the storm.
“The biggest challenge was simply the amount of rain that fell in a short period of time,” Yuen said. “Large volumes of water moved through the community and put pressure on our drainage system, ditches, culverts and sanitary sewer system.”
Throughout the event, Public Works crews monitored drainage infrastructure around the clock, checking conditions during early mornings, evenings and weekends to keep water moving and respond to emerging issues.
Municipal staff also closely monitored the sanitary sewer system and lift stations as increased stormwater entered the system. Residents were asked to temporarily reduce non-essential water use to help ease demand.
“Residents did an excellent job following the Town’s requests to reduce water use, and that cooperation helped protect the system during the highest flow periods,” Yuen said.
Although several drainage channels, ditches and culverts operated at or near capacity, the Town reported no significant infrastructure failures. The drainage channel through Green Acres Park carried high volumes of water for several days and remained fast-moving even after water levels began to recede.
Looking ahead, Yuen said the storm reinforced the need for municipalities to continually evaluate drainage systems that were built for different weather conditions.
“As weather events become more intense, municipalities continually review their infrastructure needs,” he said. “This rainfall event will help us identify areas where future improvements may be beneficial and assist with future planning.”
The Town continues to work with provincial departments, neighbouring municipalities and other agencies on drainage capacity, flood mitigation and infrastructure funding.
Among the lessons learned, Yuen said preventing stormwater from entering the sanitary sewer system remains a priority. The Town will review drainage infrastructure, culvert capacity and opportunities to improve stormwater management while continuing to educate homeowners that sump pumps should discharge outside rather than into the sanitary sewer system.
Municipal officials have not identified any significant damage to major infrastructure. Most work completed during and after the storm involved monitoring, inspections, cleanup and minor repairs, with any future upgrades to be considered through the Town’s normal capital planning process.
Yuen said extreme rainfall events place every component of a municipality’s water-management system under stress, even when infrastructure is functioning as intended.
“Even when systems are working properly, there can be periods where infrastructure is operating near its limits because of the volume of water moving through the community,” he said.
He also praised Public Works employees for their response throughout the emergency.
“They spent many hours monitoring conditions, responding to issues and helping ensure that municipal services continued to operate safely,” Yuen said.
While the Town’s review of the storm continues, Yuen said officials are encouraged by the overall performance of Teulon’s infrastructure.
“As we continue reviewing information from the storm, some observations may change, but overall we are pleased with how the Town’s infrastructure performed under very challenging conditions,” he said.
