HALDIMAND—By now most of us have heard the familiar spring sounds of a robin chirping or seen a flying V of Canadian geese returning home. It came a bit earlier than expected, but spring is in the air.
The Press spoke with Haldimand County’s General Manager of Public Works Dan McKinnon for a look at how weather patterns impact Haldimand’s budget on an annual basis, and the pros and cons that come with a milder winter.
Haldimand uses a five-year rolling average to determine the yearly budget for winter roads and maintenance work. For the 2023-24 season, $5.1 million was set aside for the removal of snow and the ensuing road work that traditionally follows a Canadian winter, such as filling potholes and fixing up shoulders every spring.
While that number is calculated using the best data available, McKinnon conceded, “You’re never going to get it right, because you can’t know what the weather is going to do.”
He cited the overall expenditures of two winters six years apart: in 2016, the County spent just $3.8 million on winter maintenance, while in 2022 they spent $6.9 million.
“You can see a million-dollar swing depending on how bad your winter is,” said McKinnon. “One event can change your whole budget. If you have an extended event with significant accumulations that goes on for three of four days, we’ve got contracted services using a ton of overtime, ton of fuel, ton of material.”
In lighter years, McKinnon noted that remaining funds are put into a contingency reserve, which can be utilized in the wake of unexpected events: “It could be in the springtime we have a really bad windstorm and get a bunch of tree damage … or we have a huge watermain break that blows out a section of the road. That’s the rainy-day fund.”
McKinnon highlighted how even milder winter weather conditions can still create expenditures.
“A mild winter that’s dry is great, because that allows us to get an early start on our spring work.… The road guys are either pushing snow or they’re doing winter maintenance – filling potholes, repairing the shoulder…. Once you come out of winter you can get going on your sweeping, ditching, all the things we traditionally do in the spring and summer.”
However, he continued, “When you have a mild winter and it’s accompanied by precipitation, that starts to create other work for our roads guys.”
McKinnon recalled a “wet weather event” in mid-January this year, which he described as a day or two of light precipitation, “enough to make sure that the ground was saturated,” followed by a day of heavy rain, with significant downpours.
“We ended up with a tremendous amount of standing water and flooding across the county, but the flooding took the form of rural flooding: lots of fields, a lot of standing water, high flowing ditches. The creeks and river were running high,” he said, noting how crews are required to be out in the middle of extreme weather events to keep culverts clear to ensure water is running freely as intended.
“That issue has always existed, but it’s becoming more exasperated now because of the nature of the rainfall events we’re having,” he noted. “When that rain comes with really extreme accumulations in a very short period of time, our systems just aren’t designed for that.”
Beyond the responsibility of overseeing Haldimand’s roads operations, McKinnon is also responsible for overseeing forestry and parks operations, where mild winters can create major headaches.
“The other one is invasive species. That can take the form of insects or vegetation that is not indigenous to this part of the world,” said McKinnon. “There’s probably seven to eight invasive species that are threats to our local forests at the moment.”
He continued, “Some of them will just harm the trees, others will completely devastate the population of certain species. It’s an ongoing thing we have to keep an eye on.”
Haldimand County is beginning to pay closer attention to its forest inventory and tree canopy, according to McKinnon, who noted flooding protection is one of the many benefits of a healthy canopy.
“Sometimes it’s about planting trees, sometimes it’s about cutting them down, sometimes it’s about targeting ones we know are at risk. If you know you’re going to lose a tree regardless because of an invasive species, let’s get it done and get something else in there that’s more durable,” explained McKinnon.
He said that while the environmental future is full of uncertainties, Haldimand is well positioned to “change very quickly with our operations. It’s really about keeping an eye on best practices, so working with Ontario Good Roads and the Ontario Public Works Association, seeing what the best practices are out there as far as dealing with situations from an operational perspective.”
He noted how anti-flooding techniques, such as rain gardens or permeable pavement that allows water to seep through to the ground beneath, are being utilized in Haldimand’s newer subdivisions and developments.
“The goal is to keep water where it fell, so it doesn’t run off,” said McKinnon.
He shared his insight into the best path forward, from provincial direction through to municipal implementation, in responding to a changing climate.
“I’m a big believer in science…. I believe the data. I think it’s imperative that the Province uses scientific data to establish whatever process we’re going to use going forward. The best thing for business is to make sure things are running well. We know the importance of wetlands. We know the impacts of a changing climate, we see it every year.”
He concluded, “As much as it’s not popular to say, we know it’s going to happen. There will be more extreme weather events, we need to have a bit of money off to the side.”
