Couple, city at odds over flooding

A conflict between a Blackburn-area couple and the city over the cause of flooding that struck their home has landed in court.

Shane Faulkner and Delonna Russell are claiming the city is at fault for the damage their 2002 McLaren Road West home suffered during a March 26, 2018 event and are seeking damages.

In a notice of claim, the couple say a failed water main was the cause and that on several occasions before the incident, they had alerted the city to abnormally high water flowing in a nearby drainage ditch.

They also say they told the city that they believed a leaking water main was the source but the city failed to investigate their reports and as a result, water from the ditch overflowed onto the property and damaged their home and its contents.

The city is denying the claim. In a response, it admits the couple raised their concerns with the city about a month before the incident “but specifically denies that there was a broken or leaking water main.”

“The property is located in an area with a high water table, and there is a history of high ground and surface water in this area,” the city continues. “The area is prone to blocked culverts and standing water. Flooding regularly occurs in the area of the property in the spring.”

On the day in question, the city received a call for service from the couple and upon arrival workers unblocked the culverts in a timely manner, according to the city.

In the process, the workers also discovered that the water service connection to a home at 2116 McLaren Road was leaking and so, excavated and repaired that section.

“The flood was caused by blocked culverts and not by the break in the service connection line,” the city says.

Faulkner and Russell’s notice of claim was filed in September 2018 and the city’s response was filed earlier this month, both in B.C. Supreme Court in Vancouver.

None of the allegations have yet been tested in court.