Municipal Drains

Most municipal drains are either ditches or closed systems such as pipes or tiles buried in the ground. They service a drainage need in a local area. Municipal drains provide added benefit to a small group of landowners. They typically discharge to the City’s overall drainage system towards Hamilton Harbour, Lake Ontario or the Grand River.

Municipal drains have been part of rural Ontario's infrastructure since the 1800’s. Most were constructed to improve the drainage of agricultural land by serving as the discharge point for private agricultural tile drainage systems. However, they can also remove excess water collected by roadside ditches, un-tiled agricultural land, residential lots, churches, schools, industrial and commercial lands. In certain cases, municipal drains could be a shared communal asset with landowners outside Hamilton’s municipal boundary.

Municipal drains are a vital component of the local infrastructure in the Province. Without them, many areas of the province would be subjected to regular flooding and reduced production from agricultural land.

Creation and Authority

The process begins with the identification of drainage issues or the need for improved drainage within a specific area. Municipal drains are established through a petition process and prior to formalization through a local by-law, an engineer’s report is adopted. The report includes plans, profiles and specifications outlining drain details and cost-sharing arrangements for construction and ongoing upkeep of the communal drainage works.

A municipal drain petition may be initiated by:

• The majority of owners in the area, as listed in the last assessment roll, including owners of any roads in the area;
• Owners representing at least 60% of the land area in the area, as listed in the last assessment roll;
• The engineer, road superintendent, or person with jurisdiction over a road in need of drainage works;
• The Director where drainage works is required for agricultural purposes.

The legal framework is set out through the Drainage Act for municipalities to exercise authority over drainage matters for municipal drains adopted under by-law.

Funding and Cost Recovery

Municipal drain costs can be recovered from landowners within the catchment area as documented by the engineer’s report. These costs are to support the localized added benefit of this communal infrastructure. Benefits to landowners include reduced flooding, improved agricultural drainage and the delegation of drainage works management to the Municipality.