Pumps and valves ‘best defence’ during heavy rain
City building inspector busy providing approvals for equipment subsidies
Flood-fighting devices such as backflow valves and sump pumps are “absolutely necessary” these days in rain-ravaged Windsor, says city building inspector Dwayne Kenney.
Kenney, a licensed plumber with more than 25 years experience as an inspector, is visiting multiple homes every day examining how these devices have been installed by contractors. His OK is required for homeowners to qualify for the city’s basement flooding protection subsidy program, which up to Monday provided 80 per cent subsidies. With more than 6,000 reports of basements flooded from the Aug. 29 deluge, council decided Monday to up the subsidy to 100 per cent, though the maximum remains at $2,800.
Kenney said he agrees with Mayor Drew Dilkens’ assessment of the devices — that they give people “a fighting chance as the rains are falling.”
Kenney calls them your “best defence.” And if you’ve suffered a flooded basement, the time to act is now, when the flooring has been torn out and the concrete is bare. Installing backflow valves and sump pumps require contractors to break up the concrete in your basement floor.
On Monday, council also approved a fast-track process for people to get the work done quickly, bypassing the pre-approval requirement that — due to the deluge of people applying — would mean a many-months-long wait to get the process started.
“It is a great opportunity available for people to take advantage of,” said Kenney.
To explain how these devices work, he took the Star on a tour of a modest city-owned home adjacent to the Lanspeary Park greenhouses that once had terrible drainage problems. It’s been fitted with all these devices — including downspouts rerouted away from the house and rain barrels — to illustrate what a difference they can make.
BACKFLOW VALVE
The shoebox-sized backflow valve protects sewage from travelling upstream during heavy volumes and running into your house where it can come up in basement drains, showers and toilets.
There are three valves available, all from a company called Mainline. The one installed at the Lanspeary Park home is a newer model called the ML-FR4 Retrofit, which “we have had much better success with,” according to Kenney. It has a float that raises when the sewage rises and closes a flap, ensuring sewage doesn’t back up into the home.
But it’s essential you inspect the valve regularly to make sure sewage is flowing (it has a transparent case) and the flap isn’t obstructed. It’s also vital that the valve be installed downstream of any connections within the house, or the backing sewage will simply go around the valve.
“If it’s not in the right location, it won’t work,” said Kenney, who said that occasionally the valve is improperly installed. Just this week, he discovered newly installed valves with no cleanout, a port that’s essential in case you need to run a sewage snake through the pipe out to the street to clean out debris such as tree roots. “But that’s why we have inspections.”
The city program pays 100 per cent of the cost of a backwater valve up to $1,000. According to Kenney, prices have risen in recent years to $1,200 to $1,300. The city strongly recommends you get more than one quote for these jobs.
SUMP PUMP
Sump pumps have been required in new homes since the early 1990s. To install one, contractors have to break the concrete and dig a deep pit with weeping tile running into the hole. Weeping tile is the porous piping — these days it’s corrugated plastic pipe but the pipe in older homes is often orange vitrified clay — installed to carry water away from the foundation. Inspectors have to make sure the tiles running to the sump pump are connected to the tiles outside the foundation and the interior tiles beneath the basement’s concrete slab.
The pump starts working once the pit starts filling up and a float reaches a certain level. Storm water flows through a pipe and outside, usually onto your front lawn.
To guard against the pump not working during a power failure, there are options such as batterypowered or water-powered backups. There are also various alarm systems to warn you when the pumps been activated, including one that texts you on your smartphone.
The subsidy for a sump pump is 100 per cent up to $1,750. Kenney said it’s a good idea to do camera work of your sewage system before doing any of this work, to ensure you have the exact right location to install the devices.
THE CITY WILL PAY:
100 per cent of the cost to install a backwater valve to a maximum of $1,000;
100 per cent for a sump pump with sump-pump overflow to a maximum of $1,750;
100 per cent for a sump-pump overflow for existing sump pumps to a maximum of $300;
100 per cent for disconnecting foundation drains from floor drains to a maximum of $400;
and 100 per cent for a combined backwater valve, sump pump and sump-pump overflow to a maximum of $2,800.
The city has earmarked $7.2 million for the program, which will pay for an estimated 2,800 homes. So far, the uptake on this program has been disappointing, with just seven per cent of households taking advantage.
But the Aug. 29 floods have caused a surge of applications — more than 1,500 and growing, which means it could take up to nine months before inspectors could visit homes.
Part of the program includes a “fast-track” option for people who don’t want to wait for an inspector before installing the devices.
The city’s approval would be dependent on a final inspection after the work is done,