Listen
Improving the engineer’s understanding of the project to the stakeholders is only one component of communication. You also need to ensure that the stakeholders have communicated to you. Therefore, it is important to listen to your stakeholders at every opportunity such as the on-site meeting, while surveying, during formal "meetings to consider", etc. Many engineers have introduced additional meetings into the process to improve communications which is commendable.

Sometimes, there are landowners who simply have difficulty opening up to the engineer. In those cases, consider enlisting the help of the drainage superintendent.

 Drainage Act - Section 40
In most instances, a benefit cost statement is not requested as part of the process to construct or improve a municipal drain. However, Section 40 of the Drainage Act indicates that "Where the engineer finds that a drainage works is not required or is impractical, or cannot be constructed under this Act, the engineer shall forthwith file…a report to that effect, stating the reasons therefor, the amount of the engineer’s fees and other charges and by whom they shall be paid…" When preparing a report under the Drainage Act, drainage engineers should keep this instruction in mind, and if one of the situations identified in this section becomes apparent, the engineer should report to the municipality as soon as possible. 

Addendum Reports
The subject of addendum reports was raised during the conference. However, due to concerns expressed, further opinions on this subject are being obtained. Direction on addendum reports will be provided to engineers in the future.

 Problems during construction:
Once the drainage report is adopted by municipal by-law, the municipality is bound to adhere to the drain design contained in the report for the construction of the drain as well as for any future maintenance and repair works. When problems arise during construction, every attempt should be made to construct the project as designed. However, sometimes unforeseen problems arise during the construction of a drainage project that make it necessary for the contractor and the engineer to deviate from the original design. This also makes it necessary for the by-law to be amended to reflect the changed design. The municipality, with the assistance of the drainage engineer, should apply to the Drainage Tribunal for an amendment to the by-law under Section 58(4) or Section 51 of the Drainage Act. If accepted and authorized by the Tribunal, the by-law will then be amended to reflect actual conditions.

 A SUGGESTED TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR DRAINAGE REPORTS
The following is a suggested outline for an engineer’s report. The mandatory responsibilities of the engineer, as specified by the Drainage Act, have been quoted and are shown in italics.

 

FOREWORD
  • Authorization:
    • Legislative Authority (e.g. Section 4 or 78)
    • Initiating Municipality
  • Summary of Drainage Act process (or reference to an appendix containing the summary)
  • Objective:
    • Terms of Reference (e.g. preliminary report, cost/benefit analysis, environmental appraisal)
      •
    • What has been requested (e.g. ditch, tile, combination system, or whatever the engineer thinks is most appropriate)
  • Recommendation Summary:
    • Provide a summary description of the drain as proposed in the report, including descriptions of the components that form part of the drain, and those items that do not form part of the drain.
    • Provide a summary of assessments in the format required on the grant application form.
  • Acknowledgments of individuals or groups whose participation or cooperation has made the preparation of the report less difficult.

 

DESCRIPTION OF WATERSHED

  • Watershed Area and Size
    •
  • Topography (e.g. types of terrain, slope ranges)
  • Soils:
    • Textural classification (from soils reports if available)
      •
    • Comments as per apparent accuracy of the report
    • Drainage rating (from Drainage Guide for Ontario)
  • Land Use:
    • Area of agricultural land and the cropping system
      •
    • Area of non-agricultural land description of alternate uses
  • Hydrologic Pattern:
    • Existing channels and their history, including the history, if any, of existing municipal drainage works
    • Types of flow (intermittent or continuous)
    • Development Potential (What changes can be expected if there are changes in crops grown, changes in type of agriculture)

 

DRAINAGE PROBLEM

  • Surface or Subsurface
  • Approximate duration of flows and flooding from short duration summer storms, high water table
  • Exact problem(s) to be addressed:
    • Inundation of land and crops
    • Requirement for tile drainage outlet while considering what areas could be physically tile drained without a pump or the construction of the outlet
    • Requirement for a legal outlet
      •
    • Requirement for new crossings
    • Drain to be closed or relocated and how that is expected to improve farming efficiency and productivity
    • Lands affected by above

 

AREA REQUIRING DRAINAGE

  • S. 8(1a) "...a report... shall include...a description of the area requiring drainage"
    •
  • Required for petition drains only: Define the "area requiring drainage" and describe how the petition meets the requirements of the Drainage Act.
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