Flood Services Canada (www.FloodServices.ca), the Greater Toronto Area’s leading 24-hour emergency flood, fire, and smoke damage restoration response service team, is weighing in on Hamilton’s upcoming flood prevention study.
The City of Hamilton is on the verge of beginning a $1.0-million study to find a means to protect its lower city sector, which suffers from low elevation, from potential future floods. The study will include the hiring of a consulting engineer, who will examine which parts of Hamilton attract the most water flow and other important factors. (Source: Craggs, S., “Massive investments still required to solve city flooding,” CBC web site, September 1, 2015; http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/hamilton/news/massive-investments-still-required-to-solve-city-flooding-1.3210404.)
“A basement can flood when the sanitary sewer backs up and a street can flood when the storm sewer is overwhelmed—and this doesn’t even consider combined sewer setups, where both are handled,” says Chad Vanvari, owner of Flood Services Canada. “In heavy storm situations, the catch basins that would normally give relief instead get clogged, similar to putting a plug in a bathtub.”
The city has spent approximately $160 million in the last five years on flood-related projects and it is believed the next five years will see an additional $407 million put towards the initiative. According to Hamilton Water director Dan McKinnon, while the city has at least been spared a storm that has hit “the most vulnerable spots,” climate change means additional floods are inevitable.
“One of the infrastructure options that can help mitigate street flooding is the addition of extra catch basins and storm drains needed to both drain larger amounts of water and to offer a backup in case one becomes clogged,” Vanvari concludes. “Addressing improperly fitted sewer connections, roads and sidewalks without weeping tiles that can’t drain, and insufficient backwater valves is also a wise approach.”
For more information on flood risks and damage and its flood restoration services, visit the Flood Services Canada web site at www.FloodServices.ca.
