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Ditch Maintenance Special Service Levy

The Special Service Levy for Ditch Maintenance was introduced in 2020 for a span of 3 years. 

In previous years $80,000 was budgeted for drainage and ditch work. With such a vast network of ditches and drains and due to the topography of our area, the requests received and the maintenance required could not be completed within the budgetary constraints.

In an effort to more effectively manage the task, a special service levy was introduced. It has been implemented that the funds raised for these works would be charged to all rural properties. The funds are raised using a combination of flat rate of $67 plus a 0.155 mill rate calculated using the land value only (no buildings). 

Any unused funds at the end of each year will be transferred to a Water Management Reserve (By-Law 2020-05) for use on future projects pertaining to the management of water.

The amounts collected each year are as follows:

202020212022
$250,425$256,685$263,102


The Municipality also recognizes the importance of being able to supply landowners with all the information they need to meet the licensing requirements. By creating a web portal accessible to the public, the information needed is more easily accessible and readily available. Maps for Drainage Flows, Elevation & Topography, Provincial Wetland Designation, Ag Soil Capability, and Bare Earth Lidar data can all be found on our website at https://mangomap.com/municipality-of-westlake-gladstone/maps. Ditches that have been recently surveyed may be available for use upon request made to the Municipal Office.

 We encourage everyone to use this information in as many ways as possible. Producers are able to access the LiDar data for  use in whatever capacity they see fit.

Summary of Activity for 2020

  • 153 miles of 3-point ditch surveying was taken by Northern Plains Drainage. Including a full inventory of all culverts and Municipal Infrastructure relating to drainage in areas TWN 13 RGE 9 and TWN 16 RGE 12.
  • Online public web portal was created allowing access to information required by the Province and Municipality when submitting drainage applications.
  • An estimated $123,000 will be transferred to the reserve for future use.

Planned Activity for 2021

  • Ground work will continue to take place for projects that have all approvals in place.
  • Cut-lines are currently being developed for areas that have recently been surveyed. Once permits are in place physical ground work will begin in areas identified as being suitable for culvert-to-culvert clean outs. 
  • Ditches that may require more significant alteration will be reviewed and prioritized accordingly.
  • An additional 153 miles of surveys will be taken and be available for use upon request.
  • Maps added to the web portal showing where these works will take place.