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The city of Ottawa has put the Kanata West development project on hold while it investigates the concerns of a city engineer who said the area could be prone to major flooding.
Ted Cooper, who worked on the development project until the fall of 2004 when he refused to support that the project should go ahead as it was, yesterday submitted letters to Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty and Ottawa mayor Larry O’Brien and talked with two Kanata councillors about his worries.
Mr. Cooper said the studies done by the city’s consultants had not accounted for water run-off from the Carp River, which could rise at least 60 centimetres higher than the consultants had planned for.
About 28 hectares of flood plain are included in the Kanata West development, he added.
“To minimize the potential for flooding, erosion and environment problems, every attempt should be made to preserve the existing drainage pattern,” wrote Mr. Cooper in his letter, which accompanied a 48-page report and 24 other supporting documents. “The underestimation of flood levels could have resulted in 500 to 1,000 future homes being at risk.”
The Kanata West project would call for 7,200 homes and commercial space for thousands of workers.
Mr. Cooper recently lost a a grievance case in which he tried to get his old job at the city back after being reassigned for not supporting the Kanata West project, and yesterday’s promise by city hall to look into his concerns is the culmination of years of work on the case.
A new engineering study is in the works, which means that the project could be on hold for several months.