Stormwater pond coming to Meadowlane -
but Mount Frederick will remain
but Mount Frederick will remain
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by Helen Hall
Kitchener Citizen
November 9, 2023
The Forest Heights community has saved Mount Frederick.
Original stormwater management plans included razing the hill and replacing it with a stormwater pond on land the City of Kitchener owns close to Meadowlane Public School.
After an outcry from the public, all current plans for the stormwater pond include keeping the hill - in some capacity.
The hill was named Mount Frederick not long after Meadowlane Public School was opened in 1972. Students named it after their first principal Ivan Frederick. It is a popular recreational spot, heavily used for tobogganing in the winter.
There was a constant stream of people attending an open house about the stormwater plans in the gym at Meadowlane School on November 8 between 5pm and 8pm.
Project manager Pacifique Nicholas was happy to see a large number of people attend the open house because it shows how much they care about their community.
There are currently six designs for the stormwater management behind Meadowlane. One includes leaving Mount Frederick in its current location and five include moving the hill to a different location on the property.
In addition to the new stormwater pond and retaining the tobogganing hill, the designs include other recreational amenities such as pathways, seating, landscaping, natural play areas, and open spaces for play.
Adding a stormwater pond to the area that the City of Kitchener owns behind Meadowlane is part of a larger plan in the city for upgrading stormwater management.
Nick Gollan, Manager of Planning and Programs for Sanitary and Stormwater, said in an earlier interview with the Citizen that 25 percent of communities built in the city have good stormwater management systems and the remainder do not. The city is working on improving stormwater management in those areas of the city. The city has received partial funding for this project from the federal government’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
The land near Meadowlane suited the creation of a pond because it is “technically feasible” in that location because the city owns the land and it is at the low point of the drainage area that is about 125 hectares around the pond. Water will drain there off impervious surfaces including roads, parking lots and roof tops.
While control of flooding is one function of a stormwater pond, Gollan said they are also important for environmental reasons. Water that accumulates in the pond will drain through the land before it reaches the nearby Sandrock Creek. As it drains through the ground, some of the oil, salt, sediment and asphalt from roof tops that is in the water is removed. The water is also colder when it reaches the creek, which is better for the wildlife that lives there. It also slows down the volume of the water going through the creek.
Information on the Meadowlane stormwater plans can be found at https://www.engagewr.ca/meadowlane-pond
The city is still collecting comments from the public.
Kitchener Citizen
November 9, 2023
The Forest Heights community has saved Mount Frederick.
Original stormwater management plans included razing the hill and replacing it with a stormwater pond on land the City of Kitchener owns close to Meadowlane Public School.
After an outcry from the public, all current plans for the stormwater pond include keeping the hill - in some capacity.
The hill was named Mount Frederick not long after Meadowlane Public School was opened in 1972. Students named it after their first principal Ivan Frederick. It is a popular recreational spot, heavily used for tobogganing in the winter.
There was a constant stream of people attending an open house about the stormwater plans in the gym at Meadowlane School on November 8 between 5pm and 8pm.
Project manager Pacifique Nicholas was happy to see a large number of people attend the open house because it shows how much they care about their community.
There are currently six designs for the stormwater management behind Meadowlane. One includes leaving Mount Frederick in its current location and five include moving the hill to a different location on the property.
In addition to the new stormwater pond and retaining the tobogganing hill, the designs include other recreational amenities such as pathways, seating, landscaping, natural play areas, and open spaces for play.
Adding a stormwater pond to the area that the City of Kitchener owns behind Meadowlane is part of a larger plan in the city for upgrading stormwater management.
Nick Gollan, Manager of Planning and Programs for Sanitary and Stormwater, said in an earlier interview with the Citizen that 25 percent of communities built in the city have good stormwater management systems and the remainder do not. The city is working on improving stormwater management in those areas of the city. The city has received partial funding for this project from the federal government’s Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
The land near Meadowlane suited the creation of a pond because it is “technically feasible” in that location because the city owns the land and it is at the low point of the drainage area that is about 125 hectares around the pond. Water will drain there off impervious surfaces including roads, parking lots and roof tops.
While control of flooding is one function of a stormwater pond, Gollan said they are also important for environmental reasons. Water that accumulates in the pond will drain through the land before it reaches the nearby Sandrock Creek. As it drains through the ground, some of the oil, salt, sediment and asphalt from roof tops that is in the water is removed. The water is also colder when it reaches the creek, which is better for the wildlife that lives there. It also slows down the volume of the water going through the creek.
Information on the Meadowlane stormwater plans can be found at https://www.engagewr.ca/meadowlane-pond
The city is still collecting comments from the public.
Residents look at the stormwater plans at an Open House at Meadowlane Public School on November 8.