Coun. Kelly updates rainfall recovery in WC

WEST CARLETON – The rain came down fast and hard last Friday (Aug. 9), but the clean-up will take much longer.

Ward 5 Coun. Clarke Kelly updated residents the work the city is doing and what his staff are hearing following an intense rainfall Friday, potentially as much as 170 millimetres in parts of West Carleton, that caused damage and havoc across the ward.

“We are still hearing from ward 5 residents who were affected by last Friday’s flooding due to the heavy rains we experienced,” Coun. Clarke Kelly released in a statement today (Aug. 13).

If you live in the Village of Carp and experienced sewage backups in your home, please reach out to 311 and copy Kelly’s office at Clarke.Kelly@Ottawa.ca.

“Infrastructure and Water Services is currently inspecting many homes who struggled with sewage back-ups during flooding and they need to know the areas where this issue occurred to better understand the problem and determine possible solutions,” Kelly said. “I have also heard from several residents affected by flooding inquiring about garbage pick up to accommodate waste produced during the clean-up of basements and other affected areas. While coordinating an additional day of collection ward wide would be a large and expensive undertaking, I am working with staff in Solid Waste Management to look for ways we can support those who have additional garbage as a result of the floods. After a call yesterday with the director of Solid Waste Services I can advise people may put flood related garbage at the end of their driveways on your regular garbage days. Please only place waste at the curb on your regularly scheduled garbage day.” 

An inspector will be out evaluating needs over the coming days and then staff can coordinate with contractors for pick up to ensure there is enough capacity to collect the extra waste.

Kelly says the focus of city staff is currently on the Village of Carp, areas of Dunrobin such as Barlow and Old Maple Lane, as well as areas in South March along Old Second Line, Marchurst, and Murphy Side Road as that is where the requests have been coming from.

“We also ask that garbage related to the construction or repairs themselves such as damaged drywall, be disposed of through the proper channels (not set out at the curbside) and encourage people to work with their insurance company and contractor to have that garbage removed,” Kelly said. “If you feel the need for assistance and your area is not identified above, please let me know. If you have been affected by the recent flooding caused by heavy rains and have questions or concerns about this, please reach out to my office directly or call 311. Social media is not where we will be capturing these inquiries.”

Many have reached out about the lack of ditch maintenance in the aftermath of the floods and have spoken about overwhelmed ditches and culverts.

“I would like to be clear that I am in no way satisfied with the level of service our ward receives when it comes to keeping our ditches clean and functional and this has been a topic of discussion regularly amongst rural councillors as this poor maintenance is not unique to West Carleton-March,” Kelly said. “A working group of councillors has been set up to further discuss how the city can achieve a much higher level of service for rural ditches with much more clarity around roles of the ditch, responsibilities for the city and homeowner, and standards for proper function and maintenance. Just prior to the flooding, I met with the general manager of Public Works and the Director of Roads. Ditch and roadside maintenance was the number one issue that was addressed. My goal is for the residents of Ward 5 is to see a noticeable increase in maintenance of our ditches and to have requests for maintenance through 311 be actioned quicker with better communication from the staff who prioritize and complete this work.”

Public Works and Infrastructure and Water Services staff continue to ensure all impacted roads are secure with barricaded road closures in place.  

Work completed over the weekend includes: 

• Contracted services were brought in to assist with reinstatement work 
• Contractors reinstated washed out shoulders on Craig Side Road and on Barry Road at Fifth Line Road  

“Asset Management Service staff assessed sites where water levels exceeded the road elevation and sites with significant washouts on Old Second Line north of Murphy Side Road where one travel lane was eroded and multiple locations on Marchurst Road to develop a plan to repair the roads,” Kelly said. “Initial assessments indicate the culverts are not damaged and no culvert repair work is warranted.  Roads can be reinstated at these locations.”

Asset Management is also currently investigating Old Second Line erosion at 760 metres south of Thomas Dolan Parkway where the in-fill culvert has failed.

“A temporary reinstatement of the site is recommended now while a permanent solution is being looked at,” Kelly said.

 The following roads currently have closures in place or repair work underway: 

• Old Second Line closed between Thomas A. Dolan Parkway and Murphy Side Road due to road repairs 
• Marchurst Road closed between Murphy Side Road and Synergy due to road repairs 
• Marchurst Road between Thomas A Dolan Parkway and John Aselford Driveway due to road repairs 
• Vaughn Side Road, near Donald B. Monroe Drive, barrier in place, local traffic only
• Rail line east of Carp near Salisbury Street, due to erosion and ponding  

All roadway impacts due to flooding are being updated by Traffic Services on the city’s interactive traffic map. Residents are encouraged to regularly check this map for updates to road closures as road repairs are expected to continue this week.  

“Staff, with the assistance of contracted services, have begun the necessary major and priority infrastructure repairs in a timely manner to restore the road network back to full service,” Kelly said.

This includes: 

• Grading Berry Side Road and Old Coach Road  
• Reinstating private approach entrances 
• Repairing road washout on Old Coach Road 
• Repairing road washout at the intersection of Vaughan Side Road and William Hodgins Road 
• Repairing shoulder washouts at Thomas Argue Road and Donald B Munro Drive 
• Deploying asphalt crews to complete repairs within Carp Village 
• Beginning the reinstatement of washed-out shoulders on Marchurst Road at Murphy Road 
• Beginning culvert and road backfilling on Marchurst Road and Old Second Line Road; the work is expected to take several days and will include temporarily infilling the ditch with gravel to open the road and addressing ditching issues following this emergency repair 

Staff will continue improving the safety of the road network by: 

• Adjusting road closures as required 
• Continuing to replace and repair culverts to laneway entrances 
• Reinstating gravel shoulders  
• Reinstating the surface gravel on gravel roads  
• Regrading gravel roads  
• Deploying asphalt crews to repair and reinstate asphalt damaged and/or washed away  
• Sweeping affected areas where debris is still on the road with a flusher truck, tractor brooms and roadway sweepers 

“Staff continues to review, investigate and prioritize all service requests,” Kelly said.