Screenshot of the CH article heading. Reads the caption: “Lil MacPherson is seen in front of a drainage ditch at the Eisner Cove Wetland, which some have said is experiencing drainage and flooding issues since being developed. She originally campaigned against its development. There are now two pumps seen at the location. PHOTO BY TIM KROCHAK /THE CHRONICLE HERALD”
View One battle after another: Activists raise concerns about flooding at Dartmouth development project
By Josh Healey in the Chronicle Herald Mar 26, 2026.
Some extracts, bolding inserted:
“Lil MacPherson can’t help but feel disappointed whenever she sees the Eisner Cove Wetland development project. “I drive by all the time, look in and just shake my head,” the local business owner and environmental activist told The Chronicle Herald. “It’s just a shame, a real shame.” Several groups originally opposed the development of the 12-hectare wetland situated near the Southdale area of Dartmouth. They fought to preserve the area, citing the positive impacts of the wetland on the wildlife and waterways…
“It’s been nearly six years since the project was first proposed and Bill Zebedee, president of Protect Eisner Cove Wetland, has taken legal action against Mount Hope Development Ltd., the business working to build 700 attainable housing units between the Woodside Industrial Park and Highway 11…
“The Chronicle Herald asked the Department of Environment and Climate Change if it had received complaints from residents around the wetland concerning drainage or flooding issues in the last five years. Although not answering the question specifically, the department noted it had received ongoing complaints…
“MacPherson’s fear is the province hasn’t learned anything from the six-year fight in Southdale, pointing to future developments throughout HRM. “They’re not listening to the experts. The same thing is going to happen in Sandy Lake. There will be flooding in Bedford and Sackville. I don’t know why they aren’t listening to the experts, but they’re not listening,” she said.”
COMMENT re Development and Possible Downstream Flooding at Sandy Lake:
The Sandy Lake watershed is the largest or 2nd largest sub-watershed in the Sackville River Watershed (the rank depending on how sub-subwatersheds are aggregated); as well known, the communities of Bedford and Sackville on the Sackville Rivers floodplain area experience excessive flooding during intense rainfall events.
Regardless, the possible impacts of significant development in the Sandy Lake Watershed on downstream flooding were not modelled in the 2017 Sackville Rivers Floodplain study nor, apparently, in a subsequent update.
Surely that must now be rectified to take into account the major new development now planned in an area of concentration of headwaters for Sandy Lake and the additional hard surface that would be introduced by the Highway 101 Connector.
Related:
Citizen launches legal action against Mount Hope Development Ltd, re: damage to wetland 1Aug 2025
Post on this website August 1, 2025