Approx. $140K in added costs expected for affected residents
HALDIMAND—The Drainage Tribunal has denied all appeals related to the Harrop Municipal Drain in Hagersville, ending a legal process that began in 2018. The final billing report, expected later this year, will include about $140,000 in additional appeal costs on affected property owners.
The Harrop Drain, located in the former Walpole Township, stretches nearly seven kilometres and serves a watershed covering roughly 1,025 hectares. It includes 575 parcels of private land, municipal property, and roads, extending from King St. W. in Hagersville to just south of Lot 11 on Concession 9.
“This whole process started back in 2018 following the cleanout of the Harrop Drain,” said Tyson Haedrich, Manager of Engineering Services. “There were some owners that weren’t happy with the assessment…. They appealed that to the Drainage Referee (the Ontario Superior Court of Justice, sitting as the Court of the Drainage Referee), which then ordered Haldimand County to create a new assessment schedule, which is how each property that runs into the Harrop Drain … is billed out.”
Haedrich noted the process took several years, in part due to COVID-19 delays. The final schedule was completed in 2023 and initially approved by Council, receiving first and second readings of the associated bylaw. Landowners affected by the new schedule were notified of their right to appeal to the Court of Revision.
“The Court of Revision was held in early 2024,” Haedrich explained. “The late Marie Trainer, Councillor Shirton, and Councillor Metcalfe were on the court of revision. At that time, there were adjustments made to the assessment schedule.”
One key point of contention was the share of costs assigned to the Hagersville Wastewater Treatment plant.
“It’s sort of been a polarizing thing for this. This goes way back to when the wastewater treatment plant was first built,” Haedrich said.
The adjustments increased the plant’s share to roughly 29-41% of total costs of servicing the drain, meaning the County will now cover about one third to nearly half of all work done on the drain.
Some landowners remained dissatisfied and appealed to the Drainage Tribunal, comprised of three provincially appointed members with no County input. The tribunal heard the case over two days in March 2025.
“When they released their decision in May of this year, they dismissed all the appeals people had, and they ordered that all the costs incurred up to this point, with the exception of some legal costs, would be included and billed back to the members on the drain,” Haedrich said. “They also dictated it was a final decision and no further appeals could take place. That was the end of the line for a legal decision.”
A billing report will be presented to Council later this year to divide the costs for the new assessment schedule report to the affected landowners. Haedrich tallied the total cost of the years-long appeals process at approximately $140,000, which will be billed back to property owners.
“To be clear, it was instigated by them initially and I think they were aware there would be costs going in. This process has been a long one with continual appeals and the costs have continued to mount,” he said.
Once the bylaw is adopted, the Harrop Drain will continue to be maintained under Haldimand County’s Municipal Drain Maintenance Program, which operates on a 10-year cycle for all municipal drains.
