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More than 250 residents turned up at a public meeting last night at Sir Wilfrid Laurier Secondary School to voice their concern over a July 3 storm that overwhelmed the city’s east-side infrastructure by flooding roads and homes.
“Residents can’t go on living with the fear of having their basement flooded every time we get a rain,” said City Councillor Bob Monette, representative of the Orleans Ward. “We need answers and tonight is the start of that process.”
City staff said parts of the Orleans area received 140 millilitres of rain during a one-hour period of the storm, which knocked out power to thousands and forced police to close certain roadways because water levels were too high for cars to pass. Sewer pipes in the area are only equipped to absorb 25 to 30 millilitres of rain per hour.
Paul Antoine, whose Orleans residence was also flooded previously from a 1998 downpour, said the July 3 flood caused between $10,000 and $15,000 worth of damage to his property.
“My insurance covers everything, but my summer with the kids has been lost with all the construction work that has to be done,” said Mr. Antoine, 43.
John Tennant, 64, said he bought a retirement home in Orleans three years ago. Although he got away with minimal damage, thanks in large part to neighbours who helped construct a makeshift dam in front of his house, he is clearly worried about what might happen the next time.
“We live on a corner and we got the catch basin at the end of our driveway,” said Mr. Tennant. “The water was at least two-thirds of the way up our lawn. There was nothing moving for two hours after it stopped raining.”
Residents were given suggestions on how to secure their homes, like ensuring their basement back water valves and caps are functioning properly. They were also encouraged to apply under the Residential Protective Plumbing Grant Assistance Program, which assists with the cost of installing devices that help protect homeowners from overflowing sewage. The program pays for up to 80 per cent of the work, up to $4,000, for those who have been affected by flooding and 50 per cent, or up to $2,500, for undamaged house that are located in a vulnerable area.
Not many were happy with the results of the meeting.
“There were no answers, really,” said Orleans resident Cathy Joyce. “I was hoping they would have said they know what the problem was, that after the ‘98 flood they studied things and here’s what we are going to do.”
© The Ottawa Citizen 2006