Another step is being taken in Manitoba to help build a bridge over troubled waters.
New legislation has been drafted that offers a new tool to help deal with drainage problems. At the heart of the legislation are a bylaw and memorandum of understanding developed by the province and the Association of Manitoba Municipalities.
The AMM and department of natural resources hope the legislation will come into effect before spring.
A municipality adopting the bylaw would have the authority to close a drain on private property if it threatened to cause damage to municipal property such as a road or bridge. The cost of that work could be charged back to the landowner.
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The municipality would work in conjunction with natural resources and follow an established protocol, said Jerome Mauws, AMM executive director. A ministerial order would be needed before a private drain could be closed. But when warranted, such an order could be issued within days.
Standard bylaw
The proposed legislation would help fill a perceived gap in Manitoba’s municipal act, Mauws said. It would also offer municipalities a consistent bylaw with which to work.
When the municipal act was revised two years ago, a provision was removed that allowed municipalities to close drains on private land if they created a threat to municipal infrastructure.
The new act allowed municipalities to pass drainage bylaws, but establishing and enforcing those bylaws can be difficult.
The memorandum recognizes that drainage is a shared responsibility between the province and municipalities.
While the bylaw and memorandum would help address some of the problems associated with land drainage in Manitoba, AMM and natural resources both agree that other long-term solutions are needed.
Ultimately, drainage needs to be managed on a watershed basis, said Darwin Donachuk, natural resource’s water policy co-ordinator. By looking at the larger picture, everyone could see how small diversions might create big problems downstream.
The proposed legislation comes on the heels of a provincial court ruling that suggests drainage falls under municipal jurisdiction.
