Burlington is testing ground for antiflooding project

City experienced severe flooding from 2014 rainstorm

BURLINGTON — The city and the province are spearheading a twoyear pilot project to help local homeowners reduce their risk of basement flooding from severe storms. If successful, the pilot will expand to other municipalities in 2018.

The announcement at Burlington City Hall on Friday follows the second anniversary of one of worst floods in the city’s history on Aug. 4, 2014 .

Some parts of Burlington received two months’ worth of rain — 191 millimetres — in eight hours, overflowing creeks and waterways, flooding 3,097 homes and causing $90 million in insured damages.

Mayor Rick Goldring said the volume of rain was close to that of hurricane Hazel in 1954, but the intensity of rainfall, for the length of time of the Burlington storm, was greater.

Ontario’s contribution to the pilot, which Burlington MPP Eleanor McMahon said is part of an effort to stem the effects of climate change, is $237,000. Burlington’s is $50,000 this year, with more possibly next year.

The University of Waterloo’s Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation is also a partner. Its staff will assess 4,000 Burlington homes (500 this fall and 3,500 in 2017) under its Home Adaptation Assessment Program to determine their vulnerability to flood damage and give homeowners recommendations to help them avoid costly damages from extreme weather. It will also collect data for a possible program expansion across Ontario.

McMahon said Burlington was selected for the basement flood reduction program because of its “devastating” experience and firsthand view of the devastating effects of climate change.

“We were hit with two months of rain in eight hours, plus flooding on our roads and our highways. Cars were submerged, 3,000 homes were damaged. Lives were changed in minutes.

“While we did what we could then,” McMahon said about community fundraising — and grants through the Ontario Disaster Relief Program — to help flood victims, “it’s important we recognize more needs to be done … Because of climate change, extreme weather events are likely to happen more often and become more common. Climate change is an imminent threat and the time to act (and adapt) is now.”

Goldring said, “We’ve learned in a big way, some of us, during the flood of 2014, that there are many steps homeowners can take to protect our homes in the event of extreme weather.”

He also spoke of flood prevention subsidy programs and other steps taken by the city and Halton Region, adding “there’s no good excuse” for homeowners not to take advantage of them.

The pilot’s selected neighbourhoods, plus homeowner assessment fees (ranging from $50 to $275) and further details will be announced in the fall.

Blair Feltmate, head of the climate adaptation centre, said average homeowners can carry out three-quarters of the recommendations themselves.

“It’s amazing to me how much risk we can take out of the system for very little money.”