City approves basement flooding subsidy for homeowners

The City of Toronto has approved a Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy program for homeowners who experienced flooding during the August 19, 2005 storm. More than 150 mm (6 inches) of rain fell in a three-hour period causing many basements to flood in the northern part of the city. The program offers eligible single-family, residential homeowners a subsidy to install flood-prevention devices on the internal plumbing of their homes.

“The subsidy is a major benefit to homeowners who experienced basement flooding caused by the August storm,” said Shelley Carroll, Councillor for Don Valley East and Chair of the City of Toronto Works Committee. “Installing the flood-prevention devices offered in the program can help prevent future flooding from occurring,” said Carroll. “It’s a traumatic experience to lose personal belongings and deal with the flood damage and I urge residents to send in an application for approval as soon as possible.”

Homeowners are eligible for the program in one of two ways:

• First, they had to report the basement flooding incident to the City, either to Toronto Water staff or to Insurance and Risk Management staff, or to their local City Councillor.
• Secondly, provide back-up documents indicating their insurance company was informed of the basement flooding in a timely manner.

Applications for the subsidy will be accepted on a first-come, first-served basis until February 1, 2006.

“Toronto Water staff will be contacting homeowners who apply for the program and we’ll be visiting homes, where needed, to help determine the nature of the flood,” said Lou Di Gironimo, Acting General Manager for Toronto Water. “This is also a good opportunity to remind all homeowners to practice flood prevention. If you have any concerns about basement flooding, call Toronto Water (416-338-8888) and we’ll send staff out to inspect.”

There are many causes of basement flooding including sewer back-ups, leaky foundations, cracked basement walls, poor lot drainage, reverse slope driveways, overflowing eavestroughs, leaking or plugged downspouts, blocked sewers, and failing sump pumps. This program is one of many solutions a property-owner can consider to alleviate the potential for basement flooding.

The City will be advertising the Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy program in local community papers and will be mailing information to residents who reported flooding to the City. Councillors will also be sending information to constituents who were affected by the storm.

For more information, call Toronto Water at 416-338-8888, or visit www.toronto.ca/water

Sept. 23rd Flood Grants Petition

Feel free to print the petition letter below and get signatures to be presented to council next week.

Petitions will need to be faxed back to my office by Sept 28th at 8:30 at
416-392-4101.

Please complete the following and forward to Councillor Carroll’s office at:

Office of Councillor Shelley Carroll
Toronto City Hall
100 Queen St. West,
2nd Floor, Suite A14
Toronto, Ontario
M5H 2N2

Fax: (416) 392-4101


Dear City Council,

I, __________________________, the undersigned, reside at _______________________ (home address) and by signing, hereby urge Toronto City Council to create and fund;

a) The $3,000.00 No-Fault Basement Flooding Grant Program as moved by Councillor Carroll and Councillor Filion; and

b) The Basement Isolation Subsidy Program as moved by Councillor Michael Del Grande

Yours sincerely,

Name:________________________________________

Phone:________________________________________

E-mail:________________________________________

Sept. 23 Garbage Issues/TTC Budget Review AGAIN!

Frightfully busy week and next week will be more of the same.

Once again, Budget Chief Soknacki has divided his committee into Special focus Review Teams and sent us off to scrutinize key budget areas line-by-line. I'll be doing the TTC Budget again with Councillors Watson and Mihevc. Expect a a fair bit of moaning and groaning here on the Blog, just like last year.

Ironically I was a few minutes late for the first review team meeting I was delayed by the TTC. It was CAR FREE day and my daughter and I headed for school and work on the bus together.

Lots of talk about the U.S. possibly closing the Border to Michigan. Key points to know:
*The environmental Assessment process to devise a solution for the end of the Michigan contract began this month.
*The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has certified the waste we ship for York Region, Durham Region and Toronto to be in compliance with their regulations every time they analyze it.
*While Toronto and the two regions continue to reduce their truckloads thru excellent cooperation from citizens, overall truckloads from Ontario rose this year because private interests ship waste as well.
*While the municipalities do ship to Michigan, it is important to remember that some of the most hazardous waste possible, is IMPORTED from Michigan to Ontario every month.

Councillor Ootes has presented a motion for council next week about "A secret contingency plan" should the border close and demanding that the plan be presented to council. From his accompanying letter, I gather that he believes there to be a plan created exclusively by Toronto. This is not the case. A report was commissioned by and paid for jointly by the GTA Waste Summit and the Minister of the Environment. At the request of the Min. Of the Environment, Toronto and York and Durham participants in the summit agreed to keep the report confidential until further notice.

Should the U.S. Federal government decide to close the border to waste, a supplementary bill will pass allowing us three months to reroute our waste. Chair Bill Fisch of York Regional Council also Chairs the GTA Waste Summit and is currently arranging a meeting of the Summit.

Flood Meeting - September 20, 2005

A meeting has been scheduled for Ward 33 residents on Tuesday, September 20 at 7:00pm at North York Civic Centre to discuss the impact of the August 19th flood in North York and the City's subsequent response. Many homeowners suffered damages to their homes and we feel that a meeting is necessary to bring the community together to provide an update from the City.

The evening will cover a basic format. Councillor Carroll will be updating on motions that have arisen out of the Works Committee meeting regarding the flood. We will be gathering petition signatures to support the motion at Council. We have invited staff from the Works Department as well as the Risk Management Department to come out and speak to residents about the flood. Staff will present their findings and proposals concerning the flood and then we will open it up to Q and A for an hour. Staff from my office will also be taking names from constituents who have had a flood but have not received an inspection from City staff.

The meeting is taking place at the Civic Centre because the meeting is urgent and there was no space large enough available in the Ward.

Flyes have been sent throughout the ward but please gelp spread the word to any affected neighbours. Send a link of this blog or knock on a their doors. Thank you to all of the community members who have taken time put from their own flood clean-up to help with the flyer drop. We hope to see you there.

DATE: TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 20TH, 2005

TIME: 7:00PM

LOCATION: NORTH YORK CIVIC CENTRE, 5100 YONGE ST.
COUNCIL CHAMBER (LOWER LEVEL)