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Municipal Drains

The Drainage Act guides the construction and management of many communal drainage systems in rural Ontario. Municipal drains, are vital to the communities, roads and surrounding lands in rural Ontario by reducing flooding, improving safety and reducing property damage.

For information about Municipal Drains, please refer to the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA), or reach out to Chris Dietrich the Drainage Superintendent.

New and Existing Drains

New Drain Construction

If your land requires drainage, you may file a Petition for Drainage, which will set in motion a project to create a new municipal drain. This falls under Section 4 of the Drainage Act.

Drain Maintenance 

The most common application pertaining to drains is basic Maintenance and Repair work. Typical maintenance work includes cleanouts, removal of beavers/dams, repairing/replacing tile and generally repairing the existing drain in a way that does not detract from the drain's original construction.

If you require drain maintenance, complete and submit a Notice of Request for Drain Maintenance and/or Repair to the Municipality. The procedure for maintenance and repair work follows Section 74 of the Drainage Act.

Repair and Improvement 

As a landowner, you can request the municipality to repair or improve the whole or part of a drainage system. Common requests for repair and improvements include:

  • New access bridges or culverts
  • Replacement of existing bridges or culverts
  • Installation of piping to enclose an open drain (ditch)
  • Relocation of the drain (ditch)

If an existing drain requires significant repair and as a result the repair includes changing the original drain's infrastructure in a way that is different from the original engineered plans, an application should be submitted by filling out a Notice of Request for Drain Major Improvement under Section 78.

If the work being requested is a Minor Improvement project Notice of Request for Drain Minor Improvement 78(5) is required to be completed.

Landowners that benefit from the construction, improvement, repair or maintenance of a drainage work will be assessed a cost for the work completed. The Engineer's report should contain a plan and profile of the drain, as well as details on the drain design and the assessment schedule. The final assessed value to all landowners will be calculated when the construction work is finished.

If you have questions regarding drainage assessments please visit the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness.

If you have concerns relating to a specific drainage work and your assessed cost, contact the Clerk at 519-348-8429 x 224.

Species at Risk Mitigation for Drainage Works

When working around municipal drains there is the potential to come across plants and species identified as being at risk. In Ontario, the Endangered Species Act, 2007 (ESA, 2007) legally protects species at risk (SAR) and provides SAR habitat protection from activities that could have potentially negative impacts

Complete the form which best applies to your situation, and submit it to the Municipal Office.

New Drain Construction - Petition for Drainage - Section 4

Drain Maintenance - Notice of Request for Drain Maintenance and/or Repair - Section 74 or 79

Major Repair - Notice of Request for Drain Major Improvement - Section 78

Minor Repair - Notice of Request for Drain Minor Improvement - Section 78(5)

  • Open the link above, and then Download the file, then open it again and the fillable form should appear. 
  • Be sure to select the appropriate ownership type and sign the form. 

Hard copies are also available at the municipal office, or can be emailed to you by contacting clerk@westperth.com 

Tile Loans

Installing tile drainage is a very common land improvement practice among farmers in Ontario. Corrugated plastic tubing, clay and concrete drain tile are installed beneath the surface of agricultural land to drain excess water from the crop root zone. The benefits of tile drainage for crop productivity, farm efficiency and even for reducing environmental impacts have been studied and are generally well known to farmers.

The Tile Drainage Act provides for loans to agricultural property owners to help finance these projects. OMAFA has prepared a Fact Sheet about the Tile Loan Program. Tile Loan Application Forms are also available through OMAFA or at the Municipal Office.

Landowners in West Perth planning to install a tile drainage system on their agricultural land are eligible for a tile loan under this program.

  • All tile loans have 10-year terms, and repayments are made annually with your property tax instalments.
  • Landowners are eligible for a loan of up to 75% of the value of the tile drainage work, up to $50,000
  • The provincial government sets the program interest rate. This rate is fixed for the full term of the loan, regardless of changes in market interest rates.

The application process is quite simple. Application forms are available at the Municipal Office, please contact the Deputy Treasurer. The Application must be submitted to West Perth Council. Once Council approves the application, the owner arranges to have the work completed by a licensed tile drainage contractor.

The Municipality collects the loan repayments from the owner and remits them to OMAFA. Defaulted payments are rare but are treated in the same manner as unpaid taxes. The loan can be repaid in full at any time. Contact the Treasurer, to find out the amount still owing at the time of your proposed payout date.

You can visit the AgMaps site to view your property and see the random and systematic tile that exists. Please note that this map is not provided by the Municipality of West Perth, so if you have any questions about the map or that website, please contact OMAFA.

Drain Legislation/Factsheets

Residents often have questions about the municipal drain process, which can be a long process with many steps. The Ontario Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Agribusiness (OMAFA) has many fact sheets about municipal drains to assist landowners.

Sometimes when a municipal drain is being proposed other landowners have an objection to it or to the portion they are required to pay. OMAFA has information on the different Drainage Act Appeals that may be available to you.

Contact Us

Municipality of West Perth
160 Wellington Street
P.O. Box 609
Mitchell, ON N0K 1N0
Phone: 519-348-8429

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