Latest news with #wintermaintenance
CTV News
26-05-2025
- Climate
- CTV News
After costly ice storm cleanup, Orillia explores ways to improve winter maintenance
The gates to the Saint. Andrew's - Saint. James' Cemetery in Orillia remain locked nearly a month after a devastating ice storm swept through the region on April 23, 2025. (CTV News/ Rob Cooper) Just months ago, the City of Orillia approved a half-million dollar investment for tree rescue and replanting, marking the beginning of the city's recovery from the devastating March ice storm. Now, Orillia is asking how it can improve its winter maintenance. A working group was established early last month and came up with 19 recommendations for the city to adopt. That includes enhancing communications, expanding its slow plowing fleet, and even driveway clearing support to some residents in Orillia. On Monday afternoon, CTV News asked Orillia Mayor Don McIsaac what caught his attention. His response focused on the city's Business Impact Analysis (BIA) about the possibility of assuming downtown winter upkeep. 'I'm wondering why they do that. Why doesn't the city just take that over? That's a conversation we have to have with them. I mean, there may be a good reason why they want to do it, but I think the city has all of the equipment and people, stuff in place to do it. So that's probably something we could look at.' He said. 'Roads and sidewalks we're looking at expanding the fleet. Do we need more equipment or not? The problem with the equipment is you have it, and you need it for one or two days a year, and then you don't need it. So we need to look at it very carefully.' Ice storm damage provincial parks A destructive ice storm has created significant damage at provincial parks in the Orillia area. (Source: Ontario Parks) Council has directed staff to assess the feasibility of these recommendations, with a further report to be included in budget deliberations. Earlier this month, council approved the $500,000 in funding to plant new trees, remove damaged and fallen trees and tree stumps from public parks hit the hardest by the storm, including Couchiching Beach Park, Centennial Park, and J.B. Tudhope Memorial Park. The funding was allocated from the City's Tax Rate Stabilization Reserve. But with the city spending more than anticipated to keep up with the challenges of the harsh winter, it remains to be seen what the city can actually adopt. With files from CTV News Christian D'Avino. Related Articles:
CBC
21-05-2025
- Health
- CBC
Sudbury city council asks Ontario government for help cracking down on winter salt use
Sudbury city council has voted unanimously to ask the province to take steps to help reduce the amount of salt spread on private properties every winter. Coun. Deb McIntosh, who introduced the motion, said many businesses in the city use more salt than they need on their parking lots, driveways and walking paths. "They're concerned, rightly so, of slips and falls and because they get sued and their insurance rates go up," she said. "So they overcompensate." In her motion, McIntosh proposed the province develop limited liability legislation so businesses are protected from lawsuits as long as they meet a minimum standard for salt usage. She also suggested that the province introduce enforceable contractor training for managing snow and ice removal, along with standards for best practices to cut back on salt. "There's no regulation on how much salt you can or cannot use on a private property," she said. McIntosh said that's a problem because winter salt dissolves over time and ends up in local waterways where it can be harmful to the environment and make its way into drinking water. Ontario has an aesthetic objective for chloride in drinking water of 250 milligrams per litre. That means that chloride, or salt, concentrations in drinking water should not exceed 250 milligrams per litre to ensure "good taste and prevent corrosion in the distribution system." Testing under the city's Lake Water Quality Program done in the spring of 2024 found that chloride levels in Ramsey Lake, the main source of Sudbury's drinking water, was under that threshold at 82.4 milligrams per litre. Of the lakes the city tested, Lake Nepahwin had the highest levels at 166 milligrams per litre. McIntosh said the city has taken its own precautions to cut back winter salt by only applying it to busier arterial roads, such as the Kingsway. For residential streets, city contractors use sand with a small amount of salt added to prevent it from clumping. Richard Witham, chair of the Greater Sudbury Watershed Alliance, said he supports McIntosh's motion. "I think it's a really positive step and it's something that the Ontario government needs to implement and it needs to be done at a provincial level because they're the only ones who can basically make this move forward," he said. Witham said high chlorine levels in local lakes from winter salt is harmful to aquatic life, and especially zooplankton called daphnia that eat algae. That could increase the risk of blue-green algae blooms, which produce toxins that are harmful to people and animals. Witham said it would be a "win-win" for the province to address winter salt use and introduce limited liability for businesses and contractors. "It's a win for the environmental organizations and it's a win for Landscape Ontario, which represents the contractors who remove ice and snow because they are also pushing for this," he said.
