City of Toronto crews repair Birch Cliff catch basin
Toronto City Council has voted unanimously in favour of adding Ward 36 to the basement flooding priority list.
This means that Birch Cliff and other parts of the ward are now eligible for a $743 million city-wide infrastructure improvement program that could alleviate future basement flooding.
It’s welcome news for the hundreds of families in Ward 36 whose basements flooded with sewage and stormwater over the summer.
It also provides some hope that fixes are on the way for the neighbourhood’s aging infrastructure, which includes combined sewers that carry sewage and stormwater in a single pipe.
Catch basin repairs
Possible fixes to Birch Cliff infrastructure
Several measures that could alleviate basement flooding in our community were identified in an Environmental Assessment completed in 2011 and unveiled by Toronto Water at the Ward 36 flooding meeting last month.
The repairs were costed at $9.4 million and include things such as replacing existing storm sewers, separating combined sewers and installing in-line storage tanks.
There’s no guarantee the improvements will be made, but it puts us on the list along with 32 other priority areas in the city.
“While this does not fully resolve everything with respect to flooding in our community, I believe it to be a positive step towards addressing basement flooding issues,” said Ward 36 Councillor Gary Crawford in a press release.
Victory for Councillor Crawford
Councillor Gary Crawford tours a flooded basement on Kalmar Avenue
Today’s vote is a victory for Crawford who put the wheels in motion after discussing the Environmental Assessment during a meeting with Toronto Water in August.
Although the initial purpose of the EA was to reduce sewage overflow into Lake Ontario along the Scarborough waterfront, part of the study dealt with basement flooding.
Citing the results of the EA, Councillor Crawford immediately petitioned the Public Works and Infrastructure Committee to include Ward 36 in the program.
It passed committee by a tight 3 – 2 margin.
Wary of a possible negative outcome at the full Toronto Council, Ward 36 organized a petition campaign and the end result was unanimous approval in Council with no debate.
