Municipal Drains

The Drainage Act provides for the construction and management of many of the communal drainage systems in rural Ontario. "Municipal drains" are vital to the communities, roads and surrounding lands in rural Ontario. They reduce flooding, improve safety and reduce property damage.

New Drain

Landowners in an area requiring drainage can sign a Petition for Drainage, which will set in motion a project to create a new municipal drain. This falls under Section 4 of the Drainage Act.

Repair & Improvement

If an existing drain requires significant repair and as a result the repair includes changing the original drain's infrastructure in a way that is different from the original engineered plans, a Petition for Drainage under Section 78 - Repair & Improvement must be filed with the municipal clerk. Examples of this include widening, lengthening, deepening a drain, etc.

Maintenance & Repair

Basic maintenance and repair work falls under Section 74 of the Drainage Act. This usually includes work such as clean outs, removal of beavers/dams, repairing/replacing tile and generally repairing the existing drain in a way that does not detract from the drain's original construction. Please contact us for a Drain Maintenance Request Form.

General Drainage information

You Should:

If you know there is a municipal drain on your property, find out how the municipal drain affects your property. How much is your property assessed?
If you notice any problems with the municipal drain, immediately notify the Clerk's Department
Before purchasing a property, investigate how municipal drains may affect it.

You should not:

Obstruct access. Along every municipal drain is an unregistered work space that the municipality has the right to use to maintain or repair the drain. Please keep this work space accessible.
Store materials (i.e., brush or other floatable material) near the drain. During storm events and spring runoff this material may block the drain.
Perform the work yourself. Notify the Clerk to arrange for maintenance on a municipal drain.
Direct septic system waste, milkhouse waste, barnyards and manure storage runoff or other pollutants directly to these drains.

Ministry of Agriculture Food and Rural Affairs provides drainage forms and information about Municipal Drains.

Tile Drains

Installing tile drainage is a very common land improvement practice among farmers in Ontario. Corrugated plastic tubing, clay and concrete drain tile are installed beneath the surface of agricultural land to drain excess water from the crop root zone. The benefits of tile drainage for crop productivity, farm efficiency and even for reducing environmental impacts have been studied and are generally well known to farmers.

Tile Drain Loans

Landowners in Central Huron planning to install a tile drainage system on their agricultural land are eligible for a tile loan. All tile loans have 10-year terms, and repayments are made annually with your property tax installments.

Landowners are eligible for a loan of up to 75% of the value of the tile drainage work, up to $50,000. The provincial government sets the program interest rate. This rate is fixed for the full term of the loan, regardless of changes in market interest rates. Please contact us for a Tile Loan Application Form.

Is Your Farm Tiled?

OMAFRA provides the Agricultural Information Atlas where you are able to zoom in to your property and see the random and systematic tile that exists.

Please note that this map is not provided by the Municipality of Central Huron, so if you have any questions about the map or that website, please contact OMAFRA at 1-877-424-1300.