As flood anniversary nears, much work still needed

As recent as June, many basements in a Hamilton neighbourhood were flooded, some for the first time, with sewage ejected into their basements when it rained.

Two years ago I opined that rampant development may have contributed to the problem because the trunk sewer line, which this development was hooked into, may have been too small in diameter as runoff from this area overwhelmed the combined storm water/sewer system.

Since I'm a retired mechanic and not a plumber, I decided to contact city hall to get some answers. I posed the following question to a number of officials who are responsibility for, and educated in, this area: “What I would like to know is, what have we done about the root cause, a combined sewer system that can’t deal with run-off, thereby flooding basements with raw sewage?”

Here is the answer I got. Hopefully it will come true for the citizens affected.

“Currently, we have completed the design for improvements to the city's Real Time Control (RTC) Operating Strategy, utilizing flow control gates to strategically direct flow in a dynamic environment while the rain is occurring. As the RTC improvements are implemented, more runoff will be captured for treatment.”

What this means is that the city will try computer modelling to simulate a flood, and measure various ways to prevent this from happening, before any actual work begins.

“An analysis of the Lower East End Drainage System recommended a series of capital improvements to increase the level of stormwater service in problematic areas. Included in the study recommendations were Storm Relief Sewers (twinning the capacity of the existing combined sewer) as well as increasing the size of sewers in other parts of the catchment.”

In plain English, new, larger sewer system pipes need to be put into the ground.

As far as the recent flooding goes, there’s a gravity problem that will need extensive work.

Here's how the city proposes to address it. Once again, capital expenditures will be needed very soon, before next spring.

“We are currently meetings with the residents affected by the most recent rain on June 7th and 8th. Our engineering consultants have completed a series of solutions; which will be presented to a public information center.”

“We are looking ways to move runoff out of the 'sag' areas by conveying it to a safe, c o n t r o l l e d Stormwater Facility (storage). The specifics of each alternative will be shared with the public and are subject to refinement and completion of the Class Environmental Assessment. Ongoing maintenance will keep the existing system operating at its designed standard.”

Keeping my fingers crossed for the residents who have suffered and will continue to suffer until the sewer pipes are replaced in their areas.

By MARK-ALAN WHITTLE, COMMUNITY COLUMNIST

Mark-Alan Whittle is a city hall watcher and Mountain resident. July 26 marks the second anniversary of a rain storm which caused extensive flooding on the east Mountain, the Red Hill Valley Parkway and other sections of Hamilton.