Municipal Drains

Established under the Province's Drainage Act, a municipal drain is used to improve drainage on private agricultural land and to remove excess water collected on other properties.

New municipal drains

Landowners having issues with excess water on their property or needing to improve the drainage on their agricultural land can contact the County to discuss the matter with our Drainage Superintendent and review options.

If the Drainage Superintendent suggests you move forward with a municipal drain, you will need to file a Petition for Drainage to begin the process.

Municipal drain process

The creation of a municipal drain is a statutory public process that includes:

Petition from affected landowners
Public meetings
Engineer’s report
Appeal process
Municipal by-law

The process also provides mechanisms for apportioning costs and recovery of costs from landowners for construction or periodic maintenance.

Learn more about the municipal drain process on the Ontario website.

Existing municipal drains

The County is responsible for maintaining municipal drains on behalf of the property owners. We have established a regular maintenance program to provide major maintenance on a 10-year cycle and will periodically arrange to enter your property to complete this work.

As a property owner, it is your responsibility to report any problems to the drainage superintendent. Do not store materials such as brush, wood or other floatable material near the drain - in a storm, they could float away and block the drain.

View a map of existing municipal drains [link to esri GIS].

Municipal drain costs

The costs associated with the construction and maintenance of municipal drains are shared among the owners of the lands, roads and utilities within the watershed of that drain. The amount paid by each property owner will differ based on an assessment schedule developed in the engineer’s report specific to each drain.

If your property is required to contribute to the cost of a municipal drain, you will receive a notice from the County and the amount will be added to your property tax account. Amounts over $500 are eligible for a 5-year payment plan if requested. A notice will not be issued for any amounts that are less than $10.

The associated costs for a municipal drain remain with the property and will become the responsibility of any new person who owns the property.

Contact the Drainage Superintendent

To discuss the creation of a new municipal drain or report an issue with an existing drain, you can contact our Drainage Superintendent:

By email
By phone at 905-318-5932, ext. 6424

To request by-laws or billing documents related to municipal drains, email website@haldimandcounty.ca.

Frequently asked questions

Are roadside ditches municipal drains?

There are cases where municipal drains run in part or in whole along roadsides. However, this is not typical. Roadside ditches are maintained by the Roads Operations Division. Should you have questions regarding roadside ditches or maintenance of roadside ditches, please call Roads Operations at 905-318-5932.

How does a municipal drain benefit my property?

The benefits of a municipal drain will vary between different lands, according to their differences in elevation, the quantity of water to be drained from the land, the distance from the drain, and the presence or absence of other existing drains, natural courses and other like factors.

A municipal drain may benefit a property owner by raising the value of the property making it more marketable, increasing the productivity of the land, and preventing water from entering on to it.

I did not own the property when the work was done, why am I being invoiced?

Drain costs are assessed to the property, not the property owner. The property continues to benefit from the maintenance of the municipal drain regardless of who the owner of the property is. The invoice is directed to the owners of the property at the time of billing out the final costs.

Can I opt out of a municipal drain?

Under Section 84 of the Drainage Act, a drain can be abandoned, in whole or in part, by petition. The petition to request the abandonment of an area must be submitted to Haldimand County Council. For the petition to be considered, it must be representative of and supported by the signatures of each property owner followed by the roll number, lot number, and concession number.

Engineering & Capital works
53 Thorburn Street South
Cayuga, Ontario
Canada, N0A 1E0

Email Engineering
Phone: 905-318-5932