Ontario couple says decades-old riding business crushed after water from new development dumped near property

It's a 40-hectares workplace that's been successful Penny Beer's household for generations, and the spot wherever she and her hubby hoped to proceed their riding concern into status to enactment their income.

But those hopes, they say, were dashed erstwhile h2o started being dumped into the ravine adjacent to their Midhurst, Ont., property.

Beer says it got truthful bad, the trails she utilized to bid horses – immoderate of which person competed astatine an Olympic level – became washed out, and successful astatine slightest erstwhile instance, a equine sank close to its knees. She says she's been forced to shutter the bulk of the business for the information of her clients and the horses, and for liability reasons.

"I person radical that would travel successful and bid and it's affected the training," Beer told CBC Toronto.

"We felt similar it wasn't harmless for them to beryllium utilizing those trails."

The evident root of the water: runoff from a subdivision task nether operation conscionable down the street. The Beers claim that since enactment began 3 years agone connected Rose Corporation's Midhurst Heights project, they've been experiencing issues with h2o runoff. 

The concern became captious successful April when, according to her husband, Glenn Beer, the developer discharged ample amounts of water, built up from a upwind event, from its on-site stormwater absorption pond.

"They pumped with 2 pumps for 10 days, 24 hours a time crossed the road, with hoses [going] down the way and into our property," Glenn told CBC Toronto. 

He says he's not conscionable acrophobic astir the measurement of water, but its prime too.

"That's soiled h2o successful my opinion," Glenn said. "It's disconnected the bottommost of cars and immoderate everybody washes to the curb. I don't privation this h2o brought into our property."

A tempest outfall program seemingly approved successful December 2023 by the section municipality allows aboriginal runoff from the improvement to beryllium pumped successful the onshore adjacent to the Beer's property. But the Beers accidental they received nary announcement from the Springwater Township that specified a program was adjacent being considered — fto unsocial enactment successful place.

At a May 21, 2025 assembly gathering reviewed by CBC Toronto, the municipality's manager of nationalist works, Trevor Harvey, told assembly that it had approved modified plans from the developer that included utilizing the onshore adjacent to the Beers. 

"That's my understanding," Harvey said.

Over the span of a week, requests to interrogation Harvey and the township's politician Jennifer Coughlin were declined, arsenic a spokesperson said nary 1 was disposable owed to "scheduling and existent priorities." 

A consequent elaborate database of questions was not answered by deadline.

Washed retired trails, disquieted neighbours

CBC Toronto reviewed hours of assembly footage and reviewed past Township docket meetings dating backmost to 2023 to effort and recognize however the modified program was approved.

At a assembly gathering connected May 7, 2025, Harvey told assembly the archetypal program for stormwater runoff from the improvement was for the h2o to beryllium pumped consecutive up Gill Road northbound astir 4 kilometres to an country called Matheson Creek. He said the developer's plan, however, was modified to person the h2o discharged to 2 locations, 1 of them being the unopened Craig Road Allowance – oregon the Ganaraska way – adjacent to the Beer's property, and that the plan was expected to mimic the existing drainage.

At a consequent assembly gathering connected May 21, Harvey said his knowing was "that assembly approved that [outfall plan] based connected accusation provided at that clip from NVCA [the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority] and [the Ontario] Ministry of Environment. And that was done successful December 2023."

Documents from a Dec. 6, 2023 council gathering amusement that Rose Corporation was scheduled to marque a presumption to assembly seeking support for the adjacent signifier of development. In the appendices of that presumption is simply a modified tempest outfall plan.

A spokesperson for the NVCA confirmed to CBC Toronto that connected Aug. 28, 2024, its unit issued a licence for the installation of an interim stormwater outlet located wrong the Craig Road right-of-way, but said it did truthful "based connected the developer's objection that highest travel rates … would beryllium importantly reduced, thereby lowering the hazard of flooding and erosion."

It's quality that came arsenic a full astonishment to Glenn Beer.

"I deliberation determination were a batch of decisions made connected our spot and radical ne'er adjacent came and looked astatine the property," helium said, adding he only recovered retired done a neighbour past fall.

That neighbour – Dan Caw – watched first-hand arsenic h2o flooded his neighbour's spot successful April and worries the tempest outflow program volition lone origin much problems.

"The h2o moving beside my neighbour's location was outrageous. Like it virtually was washing retired the way and has ne'er done that before," Caw told CBC Toronto.

Further down the street, neighbours successful the existing subdivision accidental they've experienced flooding issues adjacent earlier this caller improvement began, fixed that they're successful a low-lying area. They interest what accrued h2o travel would mean for them.

"I deliberation that our biggest interest is: wherever is the h2o going to go? Because if it runs consecutive down us, it's going to person to dilatory down somehow, due to the fact that it's going to beryllium moving truthful fast," said nonmigratory Jalena Orr.

NVCA says nary damage

The Midhurst Heights improvement is slated to beryllium a 1,400-lot residential subdivision, according to a 2022 Rose Corporation quality release.

The corp did not respond to aggregate requests from CBC via telephone and email.

An NVCA spokesperson told CBC Toronto that connected May 15, 2024 a squad subordinate conducted a tract inspection pursuing a complaint, but saw nary issues.

"The tract observations of the Officer did not enactment the connection that the adjacent spot was affected successful immoderate mode arsenic a effect of immoderate water/flow whether it beryllium impermanent oregon imperishable from the improvement successful Midhurst Heights," the spokesperson told CBC Toronto successful a statement.

Glenn Beer rejects that.

"One 100 per cent we don't hold with that," helium told CBC Toronto, saying the NVCA ne'er reached retired successful beforehand of the visit, and that helium would person been blessed to travel them to amusement the damage.

"It's evident that the harm that's been done present happened successful the past fewer years," helium said.

For now, the Beers accidental the semipermanent aboriginal of their concern remains successful jeopardy, with nary wide solution moving forward.

"I get that we request subdivisions," said Penny Beer.

"But there's got to beryllium a mode to pass and person a amended program than this."