$60, 500 towards Sophia Creek on behalf of federal government

September 05, 2008

On behalf of the Ministry of the Environment, M.P. Patrick Brown will present a cheque in the amount of $60,500 for the Sophia Creek Erosion Control and Bank Stabilization from St. Vincent Street to Lay Street project. The total cost of the project is $121,000. The Lake Simcoe Region Conservation Authority in partnership with the Lake Simcoe Water Quality Improvement Program will contribute $20,000 and the City of Barrie will contribute $29,500.

The section of Sophia Creek between St. Vincent Street and Lay Street in Barrie is flat which has created sediment depositing, which in turn has reduced conveyance capacity. This has resulted in significant creek flooding during storms. Long term watercourse improvements have been identified in the Sophia Creek Master Drainage Plan and involve upgrading of several culverts in the area. As an additional measure, this project has been recommended to remove silt from upstream of St. Vincent Street to Lay Street which will include sediment removal from the Grove Street East culvert crossing. In addition, banks will be stabilized with the installation of tree and shrub plantings. The goal of this project is to improve the water quality of Sophia Creek that drains into Lake Simcoe by removing accumulated sediment and stabilizing the creek banks to reduce nutrient and sediment loading.

“This is yet another example of the Conservative Government in Ottawa delivering for Lake Simcoe. It seems like this summer, there has been an endless stream of cheque presentations for Lake Simcoe. I can’t tell you how happy I am that we are helping this beautiful body of water in so many ways” said M.P Brown.

The cheque presentation will take place at 11:30am today (September 5th) at M.P Patrick Brown’s Constituency Office, 302-299 Lakeshore Drive.