Councillors here were encouraged to learn the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) has included a cleanout of the Conestogo River channel through the village of Drayton in its preliminary 2014 budget.
“I’m pleased to see the GRCA has included funds for dredging,” noted Mapleton councillor Andy Knetsch at the Feb. 11 council meeting.
The township has been working with the GRCA for over a year to come up with a plan for a river cleanout in order to reduce the risk to flood-prone areas in the village.
Discussion on the issue goes back several years.
The draft GRCA capital budget includes $1.85 million for flood control expenses which, in addition to the river channel cleanout through Drayton, includes gate maintenance on the Conestogo Dam and Guelph Dam, embankment maintenance and stop log replacement at the Luther Dam, replacement of the Drimmie Dam in the village of Elora and other projects around the watershed.
The authority will draw just over $1 million from reserves for flood control projects, leaving $800,000 to be raised through the general levy to municipalities. In total, the GRCA anticipates spending just under $3 million for capital projects throughout the watershed.
Total projected expenditures in the budget are $29.5 million, down slightly from $30.7 million in the 2013 budget.
Operating expenditures account for 79 per cent of projected 2014 expenses, with special projects consuming 11% and capital programs 10%.
The budget will be balanced by $29.5 million in revenues, of which 35% are generated through a levy on municipalities in the watershed.
In 2014, 46% of the GRCA’s budget revenue will be self-generated, while 9% comes from government grants, 7% from reserves and 3% from other municipal sources.
The budgeted municipal levy portion of $10.3 million is up about $248,000, or 2.5% from 2013.
Mapleton’s GRCA levy for 2014 is set at $87,610, up just over $5,000 or about 6.65% from 2013.
The draft budget also sets 2014 levies for the five other Wellington County municipalities within the GRCA watershed:
– Centre Wellington, $287,256, up 1.67%;
– Town of Erin, $76,805, up 2.14%;
– Guelph-Eramosa, $165,640, up 1.6%;
– Puslinch, $114,318, up 2.14%; and
– Wellington North, $50,443, up 2.4%.
The Grand River stretches 300 kilometres from Dundalk in Dufferin County to Port Maitland on Lake Erie.
The watershed takes in one of the fastest-growing areas of the province, with a population of more than 950,000. The watershed is also home to some of the most intensively farmed land in Canada.
“The prospect of high growth and the impact on natural resources and the quality of life present an enormous challenge to the GRCA, municipalities and all watershed residents,” the GRCA states in a budget summary. “It creates an urgent need to work co-operatively to care wisely for the Grand River and it’s resources.”
Mapleton council passed a resolution supporting the proposed GRCA budget and levy.
