The Town of Essex, and the Member of Provincial Parliament representing it, are speaking out after last week's flooding in Harrow, and providing conflicting views on it.
Storms with torrential rain moved through portions of Essex County on the morning of September 24. According to Environment Canada, 108 millimetres of rain fell on Harrow and Colchester in three hours' time, overwhelming the local stormwater system and causing flooding.
Essex MPP Anthony Leardi issued a statement on Wednesday afternoon, in response to what he said were numerous calls from constituents about the flooding.
"The flooding that happened last week isn’t new. It happened in 1989. It happened in 2023, and it's going to happen again," said Leardi in the statement. "It's going to happen again because the municipality of Essex failed to take steps to address the problem."
Leardi pointed out that the Town of Essex had received $6.8-million in provincial infrastructure funding since 2019, and it is the Town's responsibility to allocate it accordingly.
"There is a second water systems fund worth millions of dollars available from the Ontario government," said Leardi. "However, the municipality of Essex didn't even apply for it. In fact, they specifically passed a resolution on October 7, 2024, saying they would not apply for it. Under this fund, Amherstburg applied and got $9-million, Kingsville applied and got $16-million, LaSalle applied and got $22-million. Essex didn't even apply, so Essex got nothing."
The Town responded with a statement of its own. It reported that the local stormwater system was working properly on the day of the severe weather, but it was overwhelmed.
The Municipality also denied Leardi's claims about failing to apply for infrastructure funding, calling them "misinformation".
"The Town of Essex has actively pursued, and continues to pursue, funding opportunities that align with its Strategic Plan, through both the Province of Ontario and the Government of Canada," read the Town's statement. "The Town is committed to finding effective solutions for the immediate issues faced by our residents. We will continue working with our provincial and federal partners to ensure our community is well-positioned to access available programs that support infrastructure upgrades."
The Town is hosting a budget meeting on Thursday beginning at 4:30 p.m. at Harrow Arena, and residents are welcome to ask questions about flooding.
Information about the Town's flood plan can be found on its official website.
