RM of Cornwallis council backs away from state of emergency

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This article was published 23/07/2024 (663 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The RM of Cornwallis council came close to declaring a state of local emergency to deal with localized flooding at Lake Clementi, located about 15 kilometres south of Brandon, before backing away from the idea.

A property on the southeastern corner of the lake owned by Jennifer Grant and Ed Murray has seen water encroach toward their house over the years.

In 2022, Cornwallis council called a state of local emergency, cutting a trench and installing a culvert to drain some water out of the lake.

On July 10, the council was poised to call another state of local emergency to pursue similar action at a special meeting.

After Reeve Sam Hofer called the meeting to order, Coun. Ed Maxwell (Ward 2) put forward a successful motion postponing the meeting until the RM could receive legal advice as new information had only been received earlier that afternoon.

That new information was a letter signed by three provincial deputy ministers, representing the infrastructure, municipal relations and environment and climate change departments.

“It has come to the attention of the Manitoba government that the Rural Municipality of Cornwallis has called a meeting of Council on Wednesday, July 10, 2024 to table the declaration of a state of local emergency and that there is intent to exercise powers under The Emergency Measures Act to alleviate the effects of ground water saturation to one residential property, adjacent to Lake Clementi,” said the letter, which is available to read on the RM of Cornwallis website.

The letter went on to warn the municipality that it would be liable for any losses caused by actions taken during a state of emergency, that the Manitoba Emergency Management Organization is looking for a long-term solution to the problem and that a third-party engineer was going to inspect the property in question that day.

According to Hofer, Cornwallis had to pay around $8,000 to a farmer whose property was flooded and hay destroyed after the state of emergency was declared in 2022 and there were other properties in the neighbouring municipality of Oakland-Wawanesa that were damaged, but never compensated.

“It was discussed to pump the water,” said Hofer, who was a councillor back in 2022. “Some time after we passed that resolution, somebody made a decision to cut a trench on private property … and it’s my understanding that those neighbours weren’t notified that there was water coming downhill.”

The trench cut in 2022 lowered the lake level by around 20 inches, according to a document provided by Hofer.

He said he doesn’t think the previous reeve followed proper procedures or reached out to the province for guidance in 2022, but he did consult with the province when the matter resurfaced this year.

Reached by phone on Monday, Oakland-Wawanesa Head of Council Dave Kreklewich said it was also his understanding that some property owners in his municipality weren’t compensated.

He said his council has been in contact with the provincial government about the matter, but isn’t intervening directly.

“If that one person has got some water issues because of a high water table, surrounded by water, then Cornwallis should be dealing with that one individual,” Kreklewich said.

In a 2022 interview, Grant and Murray said the lake’s water was 75 feet away from their home.

When the Sun visited their property that year, water was pooling next to their house after a rainstorm. The couple was running two sump pumps around the clock to drain the crawlspace under their house and the road to their home was continually being washed away.

Lake Clementi does not have any natural drainage outlets, meaning that precipitation causes the water level to build up. To release water, an outlet had to be cut.

Reached by phone on Monday, Grant said draining water from the lake did improve the situation and allowed her and her husband to build up some low-lying parts of the property.

It also allowed them to complete some repair projects through a disaster financial assistance program, like replacing the cracked floor of their garage.

While she said the water level isn’t at the same level it was in 2022, it is close to reaching that point and water saturation is putting pressure on the basement of her home.

Following the culvert gate being opened for 10 days in 2022, Grant said progress on the flooding issue stalled out because of that year’s municipal election and the installation of a new council.

She said she had been trying to engage the province about the flooding for years and couldn’t get them involved until July 10, when an engineer showed up to assess her property.

According to her, they’ve been told the engineer’s report won’t be complete until mid-August, forcing them to wait once again before action is taken.

Some of the arguments against calling another state of local emergency or draining the lake have been that it would be an action benefiting one property owner and potentially harming several others.

Then, there’s the possibility that any damage caused by further draining the lake could be up to Cornwallis to cover.

A letter sent by Hofer to Cornwallis residents about his opposition to the state of local emergency made that case.

“Moving forward, as reeve, I remain committed to working with the property owner, council, RM administration, and the provincial government to create a long-term solution for this property — but not at the expense of 4,500 ratepayers in the RM of Cornwallis who are unaffected by this issue and should not carry the burden of cost and responsibility to fix the issue,” said the letter, a copy of which was provided to the Sun.

Asked about those knock-on effects, Grant said that only one person was compensated after the previous drainage and she’s not sure Cornwallis has spent that much.

She said many of her neighbours have developed a “mob mentality” surrounding the issue and have developed unrealistic expectations about costs as well as her motivations and goals.

As well, she said people have taken to social media to mock the councillors who have been attempting to help her as the “three amigos.”

Beyond compensating the owner of the flooded land, she said Cornwallis paid around $1,500 for a licence to deal with the water level and an engineer around $5,000 for their work. The culvert has already been placed and doesn’t need to be installed again.

“It’s a minimal amount to save someone’s house, but everyone’s expecting the province to spend an exorbitant amount to buy us out,” Grant said. “So, are my neighbours being realistic? What if it was their house? We didn’t ask for our five acres back … I just want my house to be safe.”

Grant said she wants her council to make an informed decision but doesn’t think they have all the information. She also complained that council has been dragging its feet and that Hofer keeps calling new meetings instead of making progress.

The Sun emailed all the other members of Cornwallis council on Saturday requesting an interview about the Lake Clementi situation.

The only one to respond was Maxwell. His reply, which was also sent to the rest of council as well as the community’s chief administrative officer, consisted solely of the word “FYI” and a picture of a municipal policy document stating that the reeve is Cornwallis’ official media contact person.

Last week, the Sun spoke with Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Lisa Naylor.

She said that while the government understands the situation is stressful for the property owners and that they are working with the RM to move forward, it doesn’t meet the criteria for an emergency.

“This is pretty clearly defined that a state of local emergency really needs to be a major emergency or disaster,” Naylor said.

“Usually, this is something involving loss of life or serious harm to safety, health or welfare of people or widespread damage of property or the environment … This does not fit the qualifications for a local emergency.”

Naylor said the government’s concern is that draining the lake would have flooded six to eight other properties.

“If they chose to do that, then they would have been liable for the flooding of those other properties.”

Before the province takes any further steps, Naylor said they’re waiting for the results of a groundwater saturation analysis.

If she had a choice, Grant said she would like to see some kind of water control measure instituted. But in the meantime, as she waits to hear what the municipal and provincial governments will do, she’s not sure what she can do on her own.

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