A dozen Barrie households could stand their backyards being a little drier and farther away from this water.
The Bear Creek wetland that runs behind these homes on Marta Crescent, near Ferndale Drive and Ardagh Road, is making for soggy backyards and concerns for residents.
Ron Charpentier bought a new home there in 2013.
“There was no water anywhere in sight in our backyard. Deer used to run across,” he told BarrieToday. “Nor was it ever disclosed that this was a wetland. None of the water was here.
“There was never any hint of water being an issue, of this being a wetland. Now 20 per cent of our rear yard is useless,” added Charpentier, who says he won’t build a deck behind his home because the ground could get wetter and unstable.
Katie Sewell, who has lived on Marta Crescent for 11 years, said the water has come up slowly but surely behind her home.
“There’s a pond in my backyard,” she said. “We often see ducks.
“At the end of last summer, the water moved in and it has not retreated. It’s killed all the beech trees in there," Sewell added.
Steve Smyth, who’s lived on Marta for about nine years, said checking was done before buying.
“We thought about the flood plain,” he said. “We did call the city engineering department and they said we were basically good — except for the 100-year flood.”
That hasn’t happened, yet still the backyards are wet.
Barrie city council has heard the neighbours.
Last month, council approved a motion for the $750,000 capital construction and ongoing maintenance of a dewatering program at Marta Crescent and the Bear Creek wetland. Included is a $350,000 cost this year, and an additional $400,000 to pay for ongoing operations and maintenance of the dewatering next year.
But Mayor Alex Nuttall has said that’s just where the cost begins. He has noted there is wetland creep into the backyards of houses, which were essentially built on a wetland, and the fixing costs will eventually stretch into the millions of dollars — which all Barrie property taxpayers will foot.
Nuttall said this is the result of a planning decision made by the council of a couple of decades ago.
“Nobody can see 20 years down the road,” Charpentier said.
But Sewell questions why residential development was allowed in the first place.
“I don’t know why they ever built here,” she said. “I don’t know how this was ever passed (by the city council of the day) if this was an issue. But it was dry when I first saw the property.”
Smyth said the wetness in his backyard is noticeable.
“You used to be able to mow the grass right beside the fence,” he said. “Now you put your foot there and it’s wet.”
Smyth said he needed permission from the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Area (NVCA) to put a deck behind his home.
“This won’t be resolved anytime soon, but as long as they (the city) are doing something, as long as it’s not 10 years,” Charpentier said. “It’s too bad. The street is nice, the neighbours, too. It’s a fantastic community.”
The $350,000 interim solution developed by consultant Aquafor Beech is to build a temporary coffer dam to isolate the backyards from the wetland and then pump the water out of that area.
The ongoing operating cost for this project is estimated at $50,000 a month, or $400,000 beginning next year, with expectations it would run for eight months of the year beginning in 2024, until a longer-term solution is implemented.
City staff will report back to the infrastructure and community investment committee on the effectiveness of this project by September 2024.
Aquafor Beech has been retained to study the problem and recommend both short- and long-term solutions.
Wetlands can change throughout the years, both naturally and because of human influence. Aquafor Beech’s assessment is the main drivers for the changes in the wetland are the deposition of sediment carried from Ardagh Bluffs, which has filled in a portion of Henderson Creek, and the increased prevalence of phragmites.
The province defines phragmites as an invasive, aggressive plant that spreads quickly and out-competes native species for water and nutrients. It releases toxins from its roots into the soil to hinder the growth of and kill surrounding plants. While it prefers areas of standing water, its roots can grow to extreme lengths, allowing it to survive in relatively dry areas.
The build-up of sediment and the phragmites have prevented water from flowing through Henderson Creek and has inundated the surrounding wetland, causing water levels to rise.
Long-term solutions are being studied, with the goal of maintaining a healthy wetland, restoring Henderson Creek and minimizing the impact on downstream environments and properties.
While this work is in its early stages, city staff estimate these types of solutions will take many years and significant capital investment to implement. With that in mind, interim solutions were investigated which could be implemented in the short-term to reduce the standing water in the Marta Crescent backyards.
This area is north of Summerset Drive, east of Marta Crescent and west of Gore Drive.
The city owns the parcel of land containing a portion of Bear Creek Wetland, a stormwater management facility and a watercourse known informally as Henderson Creek.
This land was dedicated to the city through the subdivision development process about 20 years ago. Other adjacent parcels containing the wetland are in private ownership. The Marta Crescent houses were built about 10 years ago.
