Plans are underway for a new multi-million dollar pumping station north of Chatham to replace the 37-year-old Rivard Pumping Station.
Kent Federation of Agriculture Vice President Kevin Bagnell anticipates the new $6 million pumping station to be built over the next 10 years, next to the current station at Town Line Road and Rivard Line.
The new station would be electric and have a diesel generator as a backup.
The current station is considered the largest drainage-pumping scheme by area in Canada and has the capacity to pump 160,000 gallons per minute with two large diesel-driven pumps.
The Rivard Pumping Station plays a critical role in protecting more than 33,000 acres of agricultural land in Dover and the former Chatham Township by lifting interior drainage water over the lakeshore dike into Lake St. Clair.
Bagnell said the station is a vital part of local farming to protect and save big cash crops such as carrots, sweet corn, and tomatoes, especially with more and heavier rain events anticipated in the future.
"I think it's more important than having the right equipment to put the crop in the ground because if we don't have the ground in condition to plant at favourable times, without the water being removed from the soil, we're not going to get our crops put in on time," he explained.
Bagnell added that the new pumping station will allow farm fields to be drained twice as fast.
"(It's) going to be able to take care of the water twice as fast as I'm doing now. And the reason why they're contemplating this project is because -- look at the rain events we're getting," he said.
Bagnell noted the current Rivard Pumping Station can manage safe water levels until the new station is built.
He explained the new station will require permits and extensive excavation before it's built. Nearly 60 pumps feed the station, not including private pumps. Bagnell said there are 4,000 km of ditches in Chatham-Kent to drain.
