A storm sewer upsizing project is underway in Port Stanley, Ont. with hopes of preventing constant flooding on William Street. The stretch leading to the main beach is notorious for road closures after heavy rains. “The whole thing floods,” said Becky Myles, who lives in the flood zone. “There are at least a couple inches, if not up to like mid-calf at some points of water. It’s total chaos and we have it shut down almost all the time if it rains really heavy.” The Municipality of Central Elgin (CE) has started the first phase of the project which will increase sewer capacity by installing larger sewers and improving drainage. It is designed to better handle heavy rainfall, including the impacts of climate change. CE says upgrades will help reduce the risk of road flooding and service disruptions, and improve safety and reliability during significant rainfall events “We had a lot of places down here that were Summer only and now with the growth of Port Stanley, people are going to be here year-round, and we need infrastructure to accommodate them,” said Andrew Sloan, mayor of Central Elgin. In January 2023, the Government of Canada announced $6.8 million from the Disaster and Mitigation Adaptation Fund. “The impact that it’s going to have in protecting communities while we continue to face the challenges of climate change is really important,” London West MP Arielle Kayabaga told CTV News in 2023. “I think that the excitement in the room that you saw today is something that they’ve been waiting for, and they’re finally able to get that.” Central Elgin contributed the other $10.2 million. CE’s portion was aided by a $9.3 million contribution by the province earlier this year. Three years ago, Port Stanley resident Spencer Noble told tales of boogie boarding in the street. “It (water) comes right up to the first step here,” said Noble. Uy7“When a car comes by, they just send waves right up on to the front porch.” A few businesses in this stretch say the know the work is necessary, but wish there was better and easier access over the next month while this portion of the work is completed. “I would say, that there’s going to be a little bit of short-term inconvenience for the long-term benefit,” said Sloan. “We’ll stop on the 24th of May weekend until the fall. In the fall, there will be increased infrastructure development down here. It’s a longer-term project, but one of the things we heard from the community was they didn’t want this happening during the summer.” Phase two in the fall will see a new storm sewer added to Maud Street and Bessie Street where one does not currently exist. There will also be gas main and power pole work on those streets. A stoplight has been added to William Street to manage the one-lane of traffic coming and going to the beach until this phase is complete.
