Background

The Halton Region Conservation Authority, known as ‘Conservation Halton’, was established more than 60 years ago under the Conservation Authorities Act.  Conservation Halton protects, manages, and enhances the area within its jurisdiction through the delivery of a range of programs and services that operate in partnership with all levels of government, landowners, business, and environmental organizations. Conservation Halton’s jurisdictional area spans approximately 1,000 km² and comprises seventeen watersheds across multiple municipalities, including the cities of Hamilton, Burlington, and Mississauga, the towns of Oakville, Milton, and Halton Hills, and the Township of Puslinch, within the regions of Halton and Peel, and Wellington County.

Under Ontario Regulation 686/21: Mandatory Programs and Services, conservation authorities are responsible for, among other things, understanding and managing the risks related to natural hazards, including preventing and mitigating those risks. Under Section 28 of the Conservation Authorities Act and Ontario Regulation 41/24 (O. Reg. 41/24), Conservation Halton also regulates development activities in or adjacent to watercourses, valleylands, wetlands, Lake Ontario shoreline, hazardous lands including unstable soil and bedrock, as well as the regulated allowances of these features. Conservation Halton also regulates activities to straighten, alter, divert or interfere with a watercourse or wetland. As part of delivering this mandate, Conservation Halton delineates and maps areas of flooding within its area of jurisdiction.

Crossing information collected through this study will be used to develop flood hazard mapping that supports Conservation Halton’s regulation limit mapping and decision making as it relates to the review of permit and planning applications in hazard lands. Updated models and mapping may also support prioritizing and planning for flood mitigation works and/or infrastructure renewal, flood forecasting and warning, emergency planning and response, and community planning. 

The scope of work involves surveying and documenting up to 280 watercourse crossing structures located within controlled/restricted access corridors associated with: 

• Three railway corridors: Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CKPC), Canadian National (CN) and Metrolinx 
• Five provincial highway corridors: Highway 401, Highway 403, Queen Elizabeth Way (QEW), Highway 6, Highway 5
• One privately managed and operated highway: Highway 407 (407 ETR) 
• Lands owned or leased by the above parties in proximity to controlled/restricted corridors 

Project Overview:

The purpose of this study is to collect all necessary data associated with watercourse crossings along controlled access corridors to support future modelling of the flood hazard.  Detailed and accurate crossing information will help ensure that the hydraulic modelling and resulting flood hazard mapping are representative of what would happen during extreme flood events.

The scope of work includes the survey and documentation of up to 280 watercourse crossing structures within controlled/restricted access corridors including three railway corridors (CKPC, CN, Metrolinx), five provincial highway corridors (Highway 401, Highway 403, QEW, Highway 6, Highway 5) and one privately operated highway (407 ETR). 

Conservation Halton has identified 260 crossing structures, sited at 233 separate locations. A location is defined as having a minimum of a 10 m separation distance between crossing structures. The crossing structures are categorised as either Priority 1 - to be completed in late 2026 and early 2027 (wherever possible) or Priority 2 - to be completed in 2027.