How do I prevent flooding?
Taking action is your best strategy for preventing a flood. Based on the home’s past history, many homeowners know when and under what circumstances their homes will be susceptible to flooding and have already taken the necessary precautions. If you are a new homeowner or do not know the history of your home and your home is thirty years or older, here are some considerations.
- When buying a home, ask the sellers to disclose any information related to flooding or sewer back-ups.
- Include as part of your house inspection, a video pipe inspection of the sewer service to find out what shape the sewer service is in.
- Are you buying a home in an area of the city where the ground is soft and poor?
- Is there poor drainage for ground water to leach through the soil?
- Do the drain-tiles require replacement?
- Does the basement smell musty?
- Is the home located on a hill or in a valley?
- Where is the connection located?
- Does it flow to the lane or the street?
- Are there large trees on or near your property?
These are all things to consider. To access City records about your home, you can call the Sewer Design Branch at 873-7925. You can ask the following:
- How old is my house / sewer connection?
- Where does my sewer-line connect to the City?
- Do you have any records of previous sewer blockages?
- Is my sewer connection combined or twinned?
- Do I live in an area surrounded by peat?
- Can you tell me whether there are underground streams near my property?
To avert flooding, here are some basic preventive measures.
- Do not put grease or objects (diapers, plastic bags, panty hose, paper towels, hygiene products, cat litter) down your drains or toilets. For more information, see managing discharge.
- If you have an older home with old vitrified clay pipe, you may want to consider replacing your sewer system with thermoplastic pipe, such as PVC (polyvinyl chloride) or ABS (acrylonitrile butadiene styrene) pipe.
- Have your sewer cleaned on a timely basis for debris or roots. Hire a drainage contractor to video inspect your sewer-line.
- Keep storm drains (catch-basins) clear of leaves and debris. In the fall, sweep up leaves for bagging or composting to prevent overland flooding from plugged drains.
- Ensure the backwater valve of your storm sump is functioning properly. Consider installing a pump if you are the lowest property situated along a street. This approved method of reducing flooding risks is designed to continually pump wastewater from a property under any storm condition. For further details on standards and installation, please contact the Plumbing & Gas Inspection Branch at 604.873.7601.
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