Mayor issues statement on flooding - resident reminds her of previous statements that she didn't follow through on

By Staff

July 17th, 2024

BURLINGTON, ON

Mayor Marianne Meed Ward issued the following statement on the flooding.

Link to the Mayor’s statement:

A resident had some comments to make on the Mayor’s current position on flooding. On the 4 year anniversary of the August 4, 2014 Burlington flood, in the middle of the 2018 municipal election, the Meed Ward campaign released a comprehensive assessment of the flood mitigation strategies and provisions that were enabled/enacted through the Goldring administration. Not surprisingly, Meed Ward was very critical of both the efficacy and the comprehensiveness of those strategies/provisions.

In particular, the use of the backflow valve technology and the homeowner subsidies offered were brought into serious question. By contrast, she tabled a program that was largely based on the Vancouver integrated water management measures and that featured the use of permeable surfaces, tree canopy and recapture/recycling processes to use rainfall as a regular, natural resource.

The program seemed to resonate with the electorate and was a major differentiator between the Meed Ward and Goldring campaigns. However, little if any of the measures that Meed Ward recommended have been pursued let alone implemented under her administration. You will note our current use of permeable surfaces rather than asphalt and concrete, our coherent tree management program and our responsive flood plain management have yet to be implemented.

We do seem to easily declare a “Climate Emergency” but it has roughly the same force as a civic square flag raising for National Podiatrist Day – no offence meant to practitioners of the foot intended.