A local councillor is looking to reestablish dust control measures for Chatham-Kent’s rural gravel roads, refuting the municipality’s stance that the service is ineffective.
Ward 6 Councillor Michael Bondy submitted a notice of motion during the May 26 council meeting, asking that council instruct administration to immediately reinstate the municipality’s dust suppression program for gravel roads.
The service, which was eliminated during budget deliberations for 2025, consisted of coating Chatham-Kent’s gravel roads with sodium, calcium and magnesium chlorides to reduce dust and debris.
The decision to axe dust impression measures freed up an annual $1.389 million for the municipality to help reduce the tax burden on local residents.
Councillor Bondy was one of 11 councillors who voted in favour of removing the service during budget talks, however, he said his opinion has changed.
“We made a mistake. When it was brought up at budget administration told us that [they] were recommending this cut because this stuff doesn’t work. It’s a waste of money if it rains, it washes away, and it has very little effect,” Bondy told CKXS news.
Since then, the Ward 6 councillor said he has had the chance to speak with several rural residents.
“They said, ‘Oh no, it does work’. So frankly, we got it wrong,” said Bondy.
Chatham-Kent’s Public Works department has stated that the solutions used on gravel roads are only temporary, as chlorides are soluble and the bind with gravel dissolves after heavy rain. Municipal officials also reported receiving approximately 100-300 complaints each year about dust on gravel roads, while dust suppression was still being used. A total of 167 complaints were received in 2023.
There are 1,785 km of gravel roads in Chatham-Kent. Administration has calculated that it takes 45 days to apply dust suppressant each year between May and August. The process can take up to 90-120 days depending on inclement weather and equipment failure. The cost of the service has also increased exponentially over the years, including a 100 per cent increase in
costs for the same level of service between 2022 and 2023.
While he is optimistic about his motion, Bondy said he hopes council doesn’t see it as an all-or-nothing situation.
“If we can do a partial application, then I guess, logically, you could just do the math and figure out what roads have the most people living on them and prioritize it that way,” said Bondy.
The funding for dust control measures was relocated as part of the budget process, but Bondy said council could dip into the municipality’s strategic reserves to pay for the service.
“We’ve got plenty of reserves with tons of money in them, and that’s what the reserves are for,” Bondy said. “That money [could] be taken out of reserves for this year, so for next year it would be in the budget, so we would start the budgetary process with that included.”
Bondy’s motion will return to council for deliberation during the next meeting on June 9.
