CARLETON PLACE – Town council has passed a motion agreeing to the municipality sending a letter to the province requesting the government reinstate funding to the Mississippi Valley Conservation Authority.

Carleton Place lies within the Mississippi-Carp River watersheds and is a sitting member of the MVCA. The MVCA monitors daily water levels and flows, including weather conditions, throughout the region and operates dam structures to offset impacts of flooding. 

The frequency and intensity of flood events are predicted to increase with the impacts of climate change, as evidenced by two severe flood events in the watershed in the past two years. The provincial government recently announced that the MVCA will receive $128,437.87 in grant funding for dealing with natural hazards which is roughly 52 per cent of what has been received for the past 20 years, which must now be borne by municipalities in the watershed.

This funding supports the wages of staff who perform monitoring services related to water levels and flooding.

Council passed a resolution instructing the CAO to write to Randy Hillier, MPP, Lanark-Frontenac-Kingston and the Minister of Natural Resources and Forestry John Yakabuski, and the Minister of Environment Conservation and Parks, Rod Phillips to request:

that provincial grant funding for addressing natural hazards be reinstated to the previous level of $248,792;

that this grant amount be increased in future years to mitigate impacts on municipal budgets from the cost of inflation; and

that a commitment be made to maintain or increase provincial grants for 2019-2020 and to assist the Conservation Authority in its mandate to protect people and property from flooding and other natural hazards by investing in capital renewal.