Heather Wright/The Independent

Warwick Township will start construction on a solution to flooding in Watford this year, thanks to a cash infusion from the provincial government.

In 2023 and 2024, massive rainstorms hit the area flooding homes and backing up water on Highway 402 at the Nauvoo Road exit.

“It really crippled our community,” said Warwick Mayor Todd Case as he met with Lambton-Kent-Middlesex MPP Steve Pinsonneault Friday morning at the township office in Watford. Case said Pinsonneault worked to get emergency funding for homeowners and now has helped the municipality secure a $3.35 million grant to improve drainage in town to prevent flooding in the future.

“We want to help you correct the problem so we don’t have to deal with the emergencies,” said Pinsonneault.

Warwick’s Public Works Manager, Kyle Chisholm, says the money will be used to improve the main drain which runs through Watford.

“There is four bloocks of streets that connect to that outlet and were increasing the capacity of those storm water lines to improve it.” Chisholm says water from one-third of the town travels through the drain.

The project will get underway this year with the replacement of the pipe from John Street to the municipal drain to be completed by the fall.

While the $3.35 million Municipal Housing Infrastructure Program cash will complete some of the improvements needed in Watford, the township is also working on clearing out some of the existing drains to allow the water to flow freely in the event of a storm.

But Case says this is a major boost for the project. “We are very fortunate because a lot of municipalities are not getting this funding,” said Case.

“That’s going to go a long way in helping us – it doesn’t aleviate the whole problem – but it is a step in the right direction.

“We always knew this was going to be something that was going to have to be done in stages. But it is very significant and having this money makes a huge amount of difference,” he added.