Sewer Backups & Basement FloodingPresentation to City Council – September 2, 2009
City completes preliminary investigation into causes of west end flooding and emergency response FAQ: West end flooding and emergency response Flooding investigation results City’s Emergency Response to West End Flooding What Residents Can Do to Limit Floods and Flood Damage Significant Rain Event - Emergency Response [PDF – 1MB] Investigation Update: Flooding Due to July 24, 2009 Rainfall Event [PDF – 3 MB] Flooding in Ottawa’s West End
Information for Residents Public Meeting Presentation [PDF- 1 MB] Public Service Announcement – August 14, 2009 City reminds residents to call 3-1-1 with any concerns on garbage collection in flood-affected areas Public Service Announcement – August 6, 2009 Kanata Flood Relief Trust accepting donations for flood victims Daily garbage pickup continues in flood-affected areas Public Service Announcement – August 5, 2009 City continues flood assistance and cleanup Public Service Announcement – July 31, 2009 City’s comprehensive response to residential flooding continues through the weekend Public Service Announcement – July 30, 2009 City continuing to provide comprehensive response to flood damage Public Service Announcement – July 29, 2009 City ramps up flood response and residential investigations Public Service Announcement – July 28, 2009 City working with residents to address flooding issues Property owners who have incurred damages to buildings or contents should contact their insurance companies for assistance. Your insurer normally submits a claim to the City for investigation and response, on your behalf. A resident can submit a claim to the City’s Claims Unit, regardless of whether the resident has insurance or not. The process is available at: “How to submit a claim”: Residents can get more information or access services by:
A quick look at our sewer systemsThe sewer systems are made up of three different components:
Why do sewers back up?The sewer systems are built to handle normal to above-average flows. Melting snow, groundwater table elevation, rainfall intensity and duration, or any combination of these occurrences can cause the sewer systems to exceed their capacity. Even the weather and ground conditions (the ground's saturation levels, frost levels, etc.) in the days, weeks, and months leading up to a wet weather event influence the additional water placed within the systems. What can cause a flood in my basement?
If your basement experiences flooding, call the City's Call Centre at 3-1-1 and explain the problem. City staff will be dispatched at any hour of the day or night to investigate the problem and identify steps to remedy the immediate situation. There is no charge for this service. What is my responsibility?As a homeowner, you are responsible for the following on your property:
Remember to not send storm runoff and footing drainage directly or indirectly into the City's sanitary or partially-separated sewer systems. This is the most significant contributor to City sewer capacity limitations and basement flooding for these systems. The water should be absorbed into surrounding natural lands instead of the City sewer system. The City's sewer use (2003-514) and sewer connection (2003-513) by-laws describe permissible discharges in more detail. Blockages on public property or in main sewers are usually the City's responsibility and they are addressed through regular City programs and on-call response processes. What can I do to protect my home from basement flooding?The following measures have been found to help, and are simple to do. Please refer to the checklist of preventative measures that can help to reduce basement flooding as well.
Every little bit of help from individual property owners goes a long way to an overall improvement for everyone. The City has an information brochure on sewer backups, entitled "Sharing the responsibility – Homeowner's Guide to Proper Sewer Maintenance" (PDF, 355 KB) and another entitled "If your Sewer backs up or your basement floods." These brochures provide helpful information about how City sewers work, how they are connected to your home, sources of potential problems, and actions you can take to reduce your risk of backups or flooding. The brochures are available at all City Client Service Centres, or by contacting the City's Call Centre at 3-1-1. What is the City doing?The City continuously renews and rehabilitates its sewer systems. We look for opportunities to increase capacity and lessen flooding problems while undertaking routine rehabilitation projects. What we improve on a street-to-street basis helps support the broader solutions that aim to eliminate flooding in the longer term. What about the City’s work on the community level?Measures to give relief to areas that have historically suffered from flooding continue to be a focus of the City's long-range financial planning, budget forecasting and rehabilitation programming. A report to Committee and Council focusing on areas most extensively affected and where repeat flooding has occurred was brought forward to Committee and Council in November of 2005 that mapped out a series of projects to deal with much of the flooding in the partially separated sewer areas. Examples of ongoing rehabilitation efforts that will assist in improvements include such undertakings as:
Since most system-wide solutions are complex and extensive, their implementation requires phasing over a number of years. The City’s capital budget typically allocates about $40 million a year to sewer improvement projects across Ottawa, each of which helps improve conditions for the system as a whole. What is protective plumbing?Protective plumbing is various devices and/or means of providing some protection to homeowners against the entry of sewage to basements as a result of main sewer backups. Installations designed in accordance with the specific site needs and installed properly can provide a barrier to the flow of backwater and can significantly reduce the potential of basement flooding. Protective plumbing methods can range from installation of sump pumps and reconfiguration of footing drainage through to the installation of an approved full-port backwater valve on the building's sanitary drain connected to the main City sewer. The proper fit of protective plumbing can only be defined after careful investigation of site-specific needs, requires building permits, and must be installed in accordance with building code requirements. While they help protect against the sewer backups and basement floods, they are not failsafe and do not solve the broader root cause. Installing approved protective plumbing devices in accordance with City by-laws and building code requirements will help to protect against main sewer backups. The City of Ottawa's "Residential Protective Plumbing Program" can provide financial assistance toward a portion of the costs of the installation of protective plumbing for some property owners. Improper implementation or installation of protective plumbing devices is not effective and often lead to aggravating the problem. Please check with the City before undertaking these measures to ensure a full understanding of by-law and permit requirements, and to ensure that any proposed work will actually help resolve your problems. DefinitionsThe following terms are commonly referred to when talking about sewers:
|
CON027745