Steinbach city council is concerned about the number of issues the city is facing with inconsistent lot grading in residential areas. Meeting in committee Tuesday night, council heard there are still a number of people who get water collecting in their yards because elevations are not consistent. Mayor Chris Goertzen says this is a bigger problem for Steinbach than most other communities because the land here is so flat. He adds the current policy needs tightening.

"Right now we have a $2,000.00 deposit for every lot that's created and that gets returned when the (rough) lot grading is brought to within four inches of final grade. The challenge is, when that cheque is returned and when the final grade is put in, sometimes it's more than four inches and there's no final inspection for that. That's the challenge and we want to find a solution so that we can have well drained lots and, at the same time, allow people to be good neighbours and get along with their neighbours without having water issues between them."

Goertzen adds there is a separate issue in older neighbourhoods that do not have lot grading plans. The administration has been asked to come up with recommendations to solve ongoing issues. Goertzen says the city also discussed the city's Sump Pump By-Law. Council was told quite a few homeowners do not follow the policy of having the sump pump drain onto a splash pad next to their home. Goertzen says council has asked the administration to look into the policy.

"It doesn't always work that well when it comes to people's back yards or side yards so we asked the administration to look at ways to alleviate some of those areas, not only to look at the possibility of people creating rain gardens and areas where they can have their sump pumps drain to, but also looking at ways the By-Law can possibly be enforced more rigorously when there is a problem on a consistent, ongoing basis."

The city's current policy includes fines of up to $1,000.00 and up to six months in jail for people who violate the rules. Chief Administrative Officer Troy Warkentin says it is not being actively enforced at this time.