Back to SearchThe 2022 extraordinary flooding event was unlike any other for the City of Kenora in recent years.
The City was faced with multiple impacts throughout our community not only in the spring but well into summer of 2022 as a result of the significant flooding we experienced. While City Administration was required to make immediate decisions regarding impacts to local roads and infrastructure, Council was faced with decisions on how we would pay for the remedial work should no other funding sources be available.
On March 20, 2023 the City was advised by the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing that we would receive financial support through the Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance program to help the City with costs related to the flooding in spring of 2022. Costs eligible under the program are up to $1,304,000, for operating and/or capital costs related to the flooding. Final payments to the City will be based on our actual costs.
City administration maintained excellent records throughout the event to not only support our claim with the Municipal Disaster Recovery program, but also our insurer for damages to our infrastructure. As we continue to work with both our insurer and the Ministry, we are confident that the City will recover the majority of the eligible costs associated with the flooding.
“The City is pleased with the Government of Ontario’s recognition of the negative effects last year’s flooding emergency had our community and their desire to assist us financially. This program is application-based and I want to commend our team for putting together a strong application. I also want to express my deep and abiding gratitude to our staff for their efforts to go above and beyond in response to more than four months of flooding and residents’ patience as we worked to prioritize work and services during an extremely challenging time. I’m pleased this funding will restore a significant portion of the costs incurred by the City during the State of Emergency” states Kyle Attanasio, CAO.
The 2022 spring flooding brought to the forefront the need for a long term strategic plan for our rural roads and our overall roads system. To that aspect, we have engaged a firm to conduct an independent roads needs assessment which will include options to address the infrastructure needs of our roads system.
The Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance will cover the significant unbudgeted costs that were required to be spent during the emergency event. The rural roads assessment will guide future planning and further investment in our roads network.
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