City asking for feedback on flooding
Survey aims to gather information so remedial measures can be undertaken
The rainy season is upon us and the City of Windsor is seeking public input on a pressing local issue — basement flooding.
The municipality has launched what it describes as a short online survey, meant to learn more about major flooding incidents that have occurred in Windsor in the past — such as the torrential rainfall on Sept. 29 that led to almost 3,000 calls to the city about residential flooding.
Mark Winterton, the city’s chief engineer, said even residents who have never experienced basement flooding should fill out the survey.
“The information provided will help the city deliver the most effective flood mitigation program and will be used to inform capital program decisions,” he said.
The survey takes about 10 minutes to complete, Winterton said.
“When we did the post-mortem from September, while a large number of people did flood, a majority did not,” he said. “We want to know more about what measures people have taken themselves.
“This will give us a clue on whether we need to do additional outreach about our flooding subsidy prevention program. We will try to learn more on whether a lot of people have disconnected from downspouts themselves.”
Online participation is preferred, as it’s the most efficient method for the municipality to gather input — but print copies of the survey can be obtained by calling 311.
The survey will remain open until the end of April.
Meanwhile, Tecumseh has also taken steps to improve its sewer system in the wake of last fall’s flood, said Mayor Gary McNamara.
The town has had a standing program in place of disconnection (from storm sewers) and back flow preventer installation for the past few years.
“Folks didn’t take advantage of the program prior to September,” McNamara said. “Since then, we have had 420 homes disconnected and back-flow prevention installed.”
That equates to $340,000 spent on the program at the municipality’s expense. The town created a reserve fund in its budget for the program.
The town also studied the worst areas traditionally for flooding when storms occur and will spend $3 million this year to upgrade the sewer system in Wards 1 and 2 — the former St. Clair Beach, plus the northern and older sections of Tecumseh, McNamara said.
“They are the lower lands of the municipality,” he said.
In some cases, there has been infiltration between the sanitary sewers and storm sewers that will be repaired, cracks in other parts of the sewers that will be fixed and more disconnection of homes feeding into the storm sewer system, McNamara said.
“We have got a pretty good handle on where the soft spots are that need attention,” he said.
The latest figures show there was $110 million in insurance claims made in Windsor, Tecumseh and Lakeshore from the flood damage caused by September’s storms, McNamara said.