Feds announce $8.8M to help contain Sudbury flooding

One component of Sudbury's aging infrastructure could be getting a helping hand.

Canada's Minister of Infrastructure François-Phillipe Champagne was in Sudbury Wednesday to announce an $8.8 million contribution that will help extend the life span of the Maley Dam to 100 years.

The Junction Creek culvert will also get some assistance, and the city will also get a new stormwater management facility as part of the deal.

The money will represent about 40 per cent of the total cost, with the other portion coming from the city.

Champagne told CBC News that the funding is "crucial" for the city.

"When you come to a place like [Sudbury,] where you realize that flooding has been almost part of life, you realize that what we've done today is basically keeping Sudbury above water," he said.

In 2007 the Flour Mill neighbourhood was hit with a rare, severe storm, which caused extensive damage. And since the construction of Sunrise Ridge, a development overlooking downtown, residents have complained of runoff and flooding.

Carl Jorgensen, general manager of Conservation Sudbury, agreed that the money promised for refurbishing the equipment is crucial, even if people don't see the changes.

"The box culvert downtown obviously is an easy one," Jorgensen said. "It reduces the amount of flooding downtown. Back before these things were in place, downtown used to flood frequently and severely."

"And so putting the flow of Junction Creek and Nolin's Creek that flows into it into these box culverts was a step that was made decades ago and now we have this piece of infrastructure to keep it in good shape, and to keep those high waters controlled. Keeping that thing maintained is extremely, extremely high on the importance level."

Jorgensen also pointed to the Maley Dam as another piece in Sudbury's flood mitigation strategy that isn't noticed by the public, but affects approximately 18,000 residents in the Flour Mill, downtown and New Sudbury neighbourhoods.

"Every spring a small, temporary lake gets formed by the Maley Dam and that water sits there," Jorgensen said. "Then we release it slowly through the summer so that it doesn't all rush through some of those low-lying neighborhoods."

"Keeping that thing in tip-top shape is extremely important," he added. "It's not like something that you see or drive on, or encounter every day, but it's one of those things where if it failed or if it wasn't there, that would really impact a lot of lives on an annual basis."