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Orangeville to consider municipal invasive species management of Phragmites australis

August 14, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By JAMES MATTHEWS, LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE REPORTER

Orangeville council will soon consider taking steps against the introduction of invasive plant species.

Councillor Tess Prendergast gave council colleagues a notice of motion during the Aug. 11 meeting that she intends to bring to council a request for municipal invasive species management and phragmites control measures.

Invasive plant species, particularly Phragmites australis, increasingly threaten municipal stormwater infrastructure, wetlands, and ecological integrity by obstructing drainage, reducing pond capacities, and exacerbating flood risks, she said.

The Ontario Phragmites Cost-Benefit Analysis in 2021 identified annual stormwater management costs exceeding $2 million in the Greater Toronto Area, with provincial ecological and economic damages surpassing $3.6 billion annually.

University of Waterloo researchers in 2020 demonstrated that protecting wetlands from invasive species can reduce flood damage in southern Ontario communities by up to 38 per cent.

“Orangeville has experienced repeated flooding events since 2005, and that shows the urgent need for proactive measures and improved stormwater management strategies,” Prendergast said.

Orangeville’s participation in the West GTA Phragmites Management Area, with support from Credit Valley Conservation and from Ontario Nature, positions the town within a collaborative regional effort that provides shared expertise, access to funding opportunities, and strengthened capacity for ecological resilience and invasive species management.

Prendergast will ask council to task the municipal departments of Infrastructure Services, in partnership with Community Services and Planning, to establish a municipal invasive species working group.

The group will support the development of a strategy focused on priority plant species such as Phragmites australis with specific attention to their impact on stormwater infrastructure, wetlands, and road rights-of-way.

The group will retain consultants to develop and maintain a municipally controlled spatial database to map and monitor invasive species occurrences across town-managed lands, and to prepare a phased invasive species management strategy to inform removal, treatment, and restoration.

Local actions will be aligned with regional efforts and funding streams for resources against invasive species in Orangeville.

Staff will integrate invasive species mapping and management into the town’s stormwater infrastructure planning, asset management, and climate adaptation strategies.

The group will apply to the Invasive Phragmites Control Fund and seek other external grants, partnerships, or cost-sharing models to reduce the financial burden on the municipality.

A report will be brought to council late next year that will outline project status, including mapping progress, funding outcomes, and recommendations for phased invasive species control and public engagement.

“We do know that invasive species do not respect our geo-political boundaries, so this is something that is done on a regional level and has been worked on for decades,” Prendergast said. “This would codify the town’s position on invasives.”

There’s mention that the working group would retain a consultant’s services. Coun. Debbie Sherwood wondered what the cost for such a service would be.

Tony Dulisse, the town’s transportation and development manager, said the price tag would be in the area of about $50,000 to $75,000.

Should council see fit, he said staff will include details in the 2026 budget process.

“We do have a plan,” Dulisse said. “We just have to assign some costs to it.”

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