I would like to address the ongoing efforts in response to the Ice Storm that hit the Eastern part of our Municipality on March 29th. This storm brought significant challenges, but our dedicated teams have been working tirelessly to ensure the safety and well-being of our community.

Immediately following the storm, Municipal crews were deployed over the weekend to salt and sand the roads, making them safe for travel. They worked diligently to remove debris, allowing hydro workers access to restore power as quickly as possible and ensuring vehicle traffic could move through safely. Our teams also stayed ahead of the hydro crews to guarantee they had access when ready.

Throughout this period, the municipality has maintained ongoing communications with our residents. Updates have been posted through our website, social media channels, and printed flyers that were both made available at our Municipal offices and handed out to residents impacted by prolonged power outages. Additionally, we created a special project page on our citizen engagement site, which has been updated in real time as new information has been received.

We also faced the additional burden of flooding across many areas of the Municipality, which led to the closure of several roads and the installation of barricades. Despite these challenges, our cleanup efforts from the ice storm have continued unchanged.

Senior management has continued to meet to assess the damage, coordinate relief efforts, and evaluate operational capacities. The Municipal Emergency Control Group (MECG) met to look at the situation as a whole and determine whether an emergency declaration was necessary. The consensus on all fronts was that the situation remained under control: roads were opened early in the week, most residents had hydro restored, and the Municipality had the capacity and equipment to do the cleanup necessary to maintain service levels.

The cleanup efforts have persisted in the two weeks following the ice storm and continue. Once hydro services were restored to residents and roads cleared of debris, our focus shifted to cleaning up Municipal-owned properties, including arenas, cemeteries, depots, and other facilities. Landfill hours were extended to receive brush free of charge, and since then, they have been further extended for the month of April.

Our operations staff has worked tirelessly since March 29th, demonstrating unwavering commitment to our community. Additionally, Hydro One workers and local conservation authorities staff have spent countless hours in Grey Highlands helping to restore services.

We will continue to provide updates through all available communication channels to keep our residents informed. I want to extend my deepest gratitude to all the staff, volunteers, and residents who have contributed to these efforts. Your resilience, patience, and cooperation have been invaluable.

Thank you.

Ice Storm Update for Grey Highlands

Municipal staff have been working over the weekend to clear all the municipality's roads

. We understand that certain areas were hit harder than others.

Please check on any neighbors who may not have hydro or who may need assistance clearing brush.

The bulk water station in Markdale is open for free water bottle fills for anyone without water. It is located in the parking lot of the Markdale Arena.

Stay safe and avoid high winds and unstable trees if you're heading outside today.

Update as of Monday, April 7, 2025, 2:30pm

ALL ROADS NOW OPEN

The Municipality has been working around the clock to clean up debris and ensure the safety of our roads and streets. Other roads may also be impacted, so please use caution and stay safe.

Grey County Road Closures

Municipal511.ca

Update: Wednesday, April 16, 2025:

In response to the ice storm clean-up efforts, we are pleased to announce that we are 𝐰𝐚𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐨𝐟 𝐌𝐚𝐲. You can bring your brush (tree limbs, twigs, etc.) to our waste and diversion sites. Additionally, we will be opening the Osprey WDS for brush only on Thursday, April 10th.

Our dedicated staff are working hard to clean up brush and debris within the Municipal right of way. To help us work more efficiently, 𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞 𝐝𝐨 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐜𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐛𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐰𝐚𝐲, 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐜𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞, 𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐞𝐯𝐚𝐫𝐝, 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐰𝐚𝐥𝐤𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐬 In addition, with the forecasted snow this weekend, snow storage may be required on the roadsides. We kindly remind you to bring your brush to the designated sites instead.

Find your closest location here: https://www.greyhighlands.ca/.../waste-and-diversion...

Residents must secure the appropriate permits to ensure safety and compliance with local regulations.

Permit Fees:

• Campfire Permit: $20 (valid for 1 year)
• Agricultural Permit: $20 (valid for 1 year)
• Non-Agricultural Permit: $20 (valid for 3 weeks)

These fees and charges have been council-approved as of April 1st, 2025.

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. Together, we can keep our community clean and safe!

Hydro One Storm Centre Map

Customers that have damage to their home’s electrical equipment (ex. stack/pipe where the powerline from the road connects to their home), need to have a licensed electrician make the necessary repairs. Customers can learn more about the steps to take through the Electrical Safety Authority- https://esasafe.com/safety/storm-safety/restoring-power