Council gave first reading Tuesday to the land drainage bylaw, a proposed update to the city\u2019s existing sump pump bylaw which was first introduced in 2003.<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\n\u201cThis follows the direction provided by Council after the Strategic Priorities Committee\u00a0meeting\u00a0last week,\u201d says\u00a0City Manager Troy Warkentin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Councillor\u00a0Michael Zwaagstra says the revised bylaw is one part of a broader strategy to address flooding issues in Steinbach.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are taking a multi-pronged approach in terms of dealing with flooding issues. This bylaw is one\u00a0component\u00a0of it,\u201d\u00a0Zwaagstra\u00a0says.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zwaagstra explained the original 2003 bylaw required sump pumps in newer homes and established drainage standards during construction, but the updated bylaw would allow the city to inspect properties later to ensure standards continue to be met.<\/p>\n
Homeowner impact as drainage bylaw moves forward\u00a0<\/p>\n
Councillor\u00a0Jake Hiebert said while the bylaw is important, homeowners may experience frustrations without clear guidance.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf there\u00a0will be\u00a0frustration, I believe, on the\u00a0homeowner’s\u00a0part… they pump their water onto their grass and when you have a wet fall, you\u00a0can\u2019t\u00a0cut your grass.\u00a0You\u00a0have to\u00a0do something with that water.\u00a0What are the different options around that?\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Related Stories:<\/p>\n
Steinbach’s Chief Administrative Officer, Troy Warkentin said public education materials and recommendations for homeowners are expected to\u00a0accompany\u00a0the rollout of the bylaw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Council also discussed concerns about sump pump discharge onto sidewalks, which can freeze in winter and create hazards for pedestrians.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Administration says those situations are already covered under the city\u2019s nuisance bylaw, but enforcement depends on residents reporting concerns.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the\u00a0city\u2019s\u00a0aware of it, administration is able to address it,\u201d Warkentin said.<\/p>\n
Updating the bylaw as the city changes\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mayor Earl Funk called the revised bylaw a necessary update as the city continues to grow and faces more extreme weather events.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe bylaw was working and it was working well,\u201d said Funk of the 2003 rules.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cBut now as our city changes \u2026 we need to change our bylaw as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Council unanimously approved first reading of the bylaw.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Further policy details are expected to come before\u00a0council\u00a0later this summer.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The City of Steinbach will now schedule a public hearing for this newly updated bylaw to give residents a chance to provide feedback.<\/p>\n
The updated bylaw will include new enforcement measures and penalties for violations, while the city also plans to provide public education and guidance for homeowners on managing drainage and sump pump water.<\/p>\n
With files from Kenton Dyck\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The City of Steinbach is moving forward with a new land drainage\u00a0bylaw\u00a0aimed at improving stormwater management and reducing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":198703,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[128,130,129],"class_list":["post-198702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-reading","tag-reading-city","tag-reading-city-headlines","tag-reading-city-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=198702"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/198702\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/198703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=198702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=198702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=198702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}