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Jan 26, 2024

Few disaster assistance applications after August flooding in Sarnia

Nearly five per cent of the more than 400 Sarnia properties affected by

Nearly five per cent of the more than 400 Sarnia properties affected by flooding after heavy rains last August have applied for provincial disaster assistance.

Nearly five per cent of the more than 400 Sarnia properties affected by flooding after heavy rains last August have applied for provincial disaster assistance.

The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing received 19 applications by the April 21 deadline, after the program was activated last December, said ministry spokesperson Nazaneen Baqizada, noting the program provides financial assistance for losses experienced through a natural disaster beyond whatever insurance might cover.

How many applications will be successful will take time to determine, a ministry official said, noting application evaluation varies depending on length, complexity, clarity and completeness.

Applicants can ask for updates by emailing [email protected], the official said.

Germain Street's David Wood is among those 19 applicants, though he already has his answer.

"Apparently they don't cover rainwater if it comes through the sewer," he said.

Wood applied for $45,000 to cover the cost of drywall, mudding, door replacement, a stair lift and treadmill that were destroyed, along with lost furniture and other costs not covered by his $10,000 in flood insurance. Total damages claimed were around $55,000 and that doesn't include everything that was wrecked, such as clothes, photos and old computers, he said.

His flooding coverage had been more but was reduced about three years ago, he said, noting it's since increased again, to $20,000.

A June 1 ministry decision on his disaster assistance claim says he doesn't qualify because the program generally doesn't cover sewer backup, except for people with low income.

Thresholds are defined at ontario.ca/page/apply-disaster-recovery-assistance.

"They cover sewer backup if your income is so low you couldn't afford to live in the house anyway," Wood said.

Of note, the rejection letter says "sewer backup water can be clear and odourless."

About a foot of brown water built up in his basement during the Aug. 4 downpour, he said.

The storm may have dumped 70-80 mm of rain in the Coronation Park area within 90 minutes, Environment Canada has said.

"Apparently sewer water in Toronto is far superior to that here in Sarnia," Wood said.

Baqizada noted insurance is widely available for damage caused by sewer backup.

"However, Ontario is the only province that offers low-income households disaster financial assistance for damage caused by sewer backups."

City officials, meanwhile, have visited 400 of the at least 432 properties affected by flooding after the storm, and identified 74 where sump pumps were cross-connected into the sanitary sewer — contributing to the system getting overwhelmed during the storm, said Sarnia engineering and operations general manager David Jackson.

So far, 12 of those cross connections have been corrected, he said.

"So, we’re sending letters and continuing to encourage the others to disconnect their sump pumps as well," he said, calling those cross connections likely "the largest source of stormwater getting into the sanitary sewer."

Two-thirds of the 432 properties were affected by sanitary sewer backups Aug. 4, while the remainder where flooding occurred experienced a combination of sump pumps failing, flooding through window wells or walls, or had unconfirmed sources, according to a city report from last summer.

A grant program covering 90 per cent of sump pump work up to $4,000 and up to $1,600 for backwater valves, up to 75 per cent of costs, continues, Jackson said.

Homeowners hire plumbers and the city reimburses them for those costs, he said.

The city has also put trays inside manholes so rainwater doesn't get into the sewers as easily, blocked the connections on an overflow pipe to mitigate another potential rainwater source, and is looking into a federal Disaster Mitigation Adaptation Fund grant that could cover 40 per cent of the estimated $5 million cost to expand capacity at two pumping stations, he said.

"We can increase the capacity a little bit. Not a lot, partly because you’re pumping it down the stream into another system, and so you can't overwhelm that system," Jackson said.

Design work is ongoing and the city may apply for more projects under the grant, he said.

"Still reviewing the grant program to understand if there's other work we can include," he said.

Best case, tendering happens in 2024, he said, noting more details could be coming to council July 10.

Increasing pumping station capacity won't solve the problem, he said, noting even with that change, the amount of rain that fell Aug. 4 would still cause significant flooding.

"We recognize we’re never going to fully resolve the issue of stormwater getting into the sanitary sewer," he said.

Tackling the problem from different angles, "our main goal is to get as much out as we can," he said.

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