Town agrees to Tannerville repairs
Decaying watermain pipes will be replaced this year
Two delegations of local residents spoke to Trent Hills council on Tuesday to raise their concerns about problems on their streets. One group came away happy, the other not so much.
The happier group includes former councillor Joe Watson and his neighbours in Tannerville in Campbellford who learned that the municipality has a plan to replace the watermain pipes that have been breaking constantly in recent years and flooding their streets and basements.
Just before Watson and Lee Mathews were to make their presentation complaining about the lack of action to fix the problems, council heard from Tanya Redden, Manager of Capital Works and Asset Management, that staff has a plan to solve the major problems soon.
Last year, Watson complained about the frequent watermain breaks and town staff said the pipes were decaying decades before they should, perhaps due to acid in the soil. In February staff proposed a $4 million plan to replace the water and sewer pipes, repave the roads and install sidewalks and gutters.
The town said it could only afford this plan if it received a provincial grant. Applications for that program were delayed until June and staff learned that even if the application was successful no decision would be made until later this fall or next winter.
On June 23 a major watermain break occurred, the 11th since 2020, forcing staff to reconsider.
The revised plan will only cost $468,000 this year, which Chief Administrative Officer Lynn Phillips noted will actually be paid with money the town has received from a different provincial program.
“Staff are recommending emergency work at a reduced scope to replace the main area of the failures being Parkview Blvd. and Tanner Rd. (Parkview to Gair) before the end of 2025 to limit risk during the upcoming winter season,” Redden wrote in a report to council.
“Staff will propose another section of work in the 2026 municipal budget, being Gair Street and Tanner Road (from Gair St. to Ibey Court) to continue with upgrades on the watermain,” Redden wrote.
Council backed the revised construction plan, which will see much of the work done by town staff and local contractors.
“I want to thank Redden,” Watson said when he got to speak. “I am pleased. I know everyone will be.”
Mathews said that she and her husband spent $32,000 on their Parkview Blvd. home to install drainage tiles and a sump pump to deal with flooding caused by breaks.
“In our 12 ½ years we have had 17 watermain breaks,” Mathews said.
The news was not so good for residents of Nappan Island who complained to council about the state of the roads to and on the island.
Cheryl Westfall, who has lived on Puffball Inn Road for 21 years, the roads are full of potholes and almost impassable. She requested a permanent solution such as tarring and chipping the roads.
Westfall noted that the town had made some improvements to Nappan Island Road, leading to the new bridge, but nothing on the island itself.
Lee Carruthers, who also lives on Puffball Inn Road, said the roads are narrow, visibility is bad and there are no ditches.
Roads Manager Neal Allanson responded that the municipality spends about $250,000 each year to add an additional three to five kilometres of tarred and chipped road to its inventory.
Allanson insisted grading and filling in the potholes is the only other alternative.
He noted that Nappan Island is considered a class five road under provincial regulations, meaning it has little traffic, and Puffball Inn has even less so is a class six.
“North of the bridge on Puffball Inn Road is very narrow and forested with no room for ditches,” Allanson said.
The town would have to obtain easements from landowners in order to widen the roadway, he said.
No one mentioned the possible impact of planned development on the island, but in the past staff have suggested that development fees could help repay the $1.7 million cost of the bridge that was installed in 2024.
Preliminary approval has been given for a 67-home rural subdivision on 311 acres on Nappan Island. The land was sold to a new buyer last year.
Last September, Lower Trent Conservation Authority warned that a causeway linking Nappan Island to the mainland is too low and could flood isolating residents.
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I am pleased with council action today. This last water main break that happen on June 22 but wasn,t discovered till the morning of the 23. Thousand of gallons of treated water escaped as our sump pump ran for two days while our neighbours ran for five. It cost dollars for this water so it will be a saving for the Municipality, it is too bad it is not passed on to the customers. I have never seen so many tankers and residents with tanks getting municipal water.