Buckled pavement adds flood threats
When water bubbles up out of storm drains and floods the street — despite no rain for several days before — area residents are understandably anxious.
It happened Saturday at the bottom of Woodbine Ave., to the amazement of local resident Robert Kelly, who thought he’d seen it all when it comes to local flooding.
Kelly lives on Woodbine Ave. just north of the Donald D. Summerville pool and close to a storm sewer chamber surrounded by collapsed pavement that gave way last July and has yet to be fixed.
He sent us a note saying he has twice filed reports to 311 about the issue since last summer, adding, “they came and left two cones and painted the road, but no results.”
Kelly, who has lived here since1992, believes the buckled pavement around the chamber is a symptom of bigger problems that for decades have caused local storm drains to occasionally back up and flood the street.
To make matters worse, Kelly said he and his neighbours have been denied flood damage insurance because this has happened so often.
During a long, hard rain, he says he’s seen a geyser of water spew out of the hole in the middle of the chamber cover with such force that it propelled the round iron lid more than a metre into the air.
We went there Thursday, after several rain-free days, to take check out the chamber and saw no signs of flooding around any of the local storm drains.
So it was a surprise when Kelly saw large amounts water pooling along the curb on Woodbine, in an alley behind the homes and around the corner on Kew Beach Ave.
“The catch basins are overflowing today,” even though there was no rain overnight, he said, adding that this was the “first time this has happened in my 25 years of living here.” Status: Kazia Fraser, a spokesperson for Toronto Water, said the cover on the storm sewer chamber, as well as the buckled pavement around it, will be fixed next week.
As for the water that mysteriously bubbled out of the storm drains, she offered the following explanation: “There are a small number of catch basins in the city that are currently below the lake level, which is at a record high.
“As a result, on some days, such as when there is significant wave action, these low lying sewers will surcharge some lake water before dissipating. ”