Mississauga Council passes sweeping suite of policies to protect residents and combat future flood risks
After a recent staff report caused an uproar among council members for being too weak and lacking substance, Mississauga’s local elected members have approved a new strategy to provide more flood mitigation and protection for residents, including a number of major stormwater projects that will now be expedited.
For example, the Dixie-Dundas Flood Mitigation Project in an area that has turned into a lake during the mega storms over the last decade, will now be completed six years earlier under last week’s series of drastic moves.
The Dixie and Dundas area of Mississauga, which has been completely overwhelmed by recent storms, will see completion of a major flood mitigation project six years earlier after council members took action last week.
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Under last week’s resolution of Council, a new Residential Compassionate Flood Relief Grant will offer a one-time payment of $1,000 to residential property owners who suffered basement flooding damages during the July 16 or August 17/18 weather events. It aims to help homeowners or tenants offset the cost of an insurance deductible or their actual expense and loss incurred as a result of in-house flooding. The program is “based on compassionate grounds and is not considered an admission of liability on the part of the City of Mississauga.” The grant program, which will be funded by property taxes, is budgeted at $3 million to allow for up to 3,000 applications, which can be submitted between December 1 to May 31.
The new Basement Flooding Prevention Rebate Program is meant to be a preventative tool to support residents by alleviating some of the costs associated with basement flood prevention improvements. Through the grant, homeowners can receive rebates of up to $6,800 and includes coverage for installation of a sump pump (up to $6,000), downspout disconnection and weeping tile (foundation drain) disconnection (both up to $400) to help protect their properties from future flooding. Applications for this program will open in February 2025. The rebate program will be funded through the stormwater charge and is projected to cost upwards of approximately $64 million, or $6.4 million annually, over a 10-year period, a staff report explained.
The work by staff came after Mayor Carolyn Parrish and other council members raised deep concerns with a previous report that was described as weak and lacking in substance, as residents are desperately looking for real solutions to the growing threats posed by climate change.
During a September 18 meeting, councillors criticized staff for presenting a report many around the table said was “far too general.” It was condemned for lacking several details, including a failure to provide specific timelines and an assumption that residents were going to bear the brunt of the price tag for major capital projects through the City’s stormwater charge. Mayor Parrish went as far as to say that while she recognized staff are doing their best, “it's not good enough.”
“The problem is overwhelming,” she acknowledged, adding, “The only way to fix it is to do something really urgent.”
Councillor Chris Fonseca also expressed her frustration with the previous report, stating: “There are no specific timelines outlined anywhere in the report. There's an assumption that the stormwater charge going out to 2034 is going to fully fund, on the backs of taxpayers… a very long timeline for these projects. There has been no follow up on provincial or federal applications… to take the opportunity to help fund and support some of these projects that we are in dire need of.”
Fonseca’s Ward 3 has been one of the hardest hit areas of the city.
“Basically, the report says, as residents have said here today and residents of Ward 3 have expressed in frustration to me, that more studies need to be done, and this is just not acceptable.”
Staff were directed to report back the following week with a series of recommendations, including a financial assistance program for residents, a detailed action plan to implement the recommended flood mitigation initiatives through capital plans and maintenance operations, and to identify budget and staff resources required to see the proposed plans and programs through.
In addition to the grants for residents, on Wednesday, September 25th, Council approved several new projects and directed staff to fast-track several existing initiatives this year, including:
- Review flooding concerns in North Streetsville (Ward 11);
- Assessment of trunk storm sewer system in Harvest Drive area (Ward 1);
- Design of storm sewer upgrades for Historic Malton Village (Ward 5); and
- Riverine flooding review (Ward 3).
Other new initiatives to be examined in 2025 and 2026 include:
- Construction of storm sewer upgrades for Historic Malton Village (Ward 5);
- Outlet pipe from Runningbrook Drive through Cedarbrook Park (Ward 3);
- Design for downspout disconnection pilot in Black Walnut Trail area (Ward 10); and
- Streetsville area storm sewer capacity review (Ward 11).
The work will require an additional $900,000 in 2024 and approximately $7.7 million in 2025, Emma Calvert, the City’s acting director of infrastructure planning and engineering services, outlined for council members. Other work will include post storm clean up and increased inspections of stormwater infrastructure.
Mississauga, which was recently named one of the province’s most flood-prone municipalities, has a number of reasons for its vulnerability including outdated stormwater infrastructure, its geography within a basin that leads down to Lake Ontario and the numerous large and small watersheds that run south through the city.
Residents have voiced frustration over the routine flooding in their neighbourhoods, and have demanded more action from City Hall, as bills to repair damages have run well into the five figures for many homeowners. The damages for July’s storm alone caused more than an estimated $940 million of damages to insured properties, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada. Many homeowners have insurance policies with limited coverage for flooding, while more and more insurers are using tactics to reduce their own liability, shifting increasingly common financial risks onto residents.
This has placed more emphasis on failing municipal stormwater infrastructure, which in Mississauga is in dire need of a major overhaul to replace outdated assets with pipes, catch basins, retaining ponds and other drainage features with a new system built for the reality of a very different climate future.
TOP: The intersection of Dundas Street and Queen Frederica Drive during the flood in 2013. (YouTube) BOTTOM: The same intersection 11 years later. (X/Twitter)
The City is encouraging residents who currently do not have sump pumps — which move water from basins fed by weeping tiles outside through a pipe connected to a motorized pump — or backwater valves — which prevent backup into a house — to invest in these mitigation measures to protect their home from future damage. Most of the costs will be covered, according to the report approved by council last week, through these new municipal programs.
The costs of installing these preventative measures typically range from $1,500 to $2,200 for a sump pump and $1,500 to $3,000 for a backwater valve.
Similar programs meant to alleviate the financial strain on homeowners have not seen the uptake necessary to make much of an impact. But the new approach, with more money for each homeowner on the table, and a better plan to promote it, could see better participation.
The July and August storms left roadways and cars submerged across Mississauga.
(Mississauga Fire and Emergency Services/X)
The Dixie-Dundas Flood Mitigation Project which will now be accelerated by approximately six years will hopefully be partly funded by the Ontario government’s Housing-Enabling Water Systems Fund. Staff are preparing a request.
A spokesperson told The Pointer in July that the long-term infrastructure plan would be fully funded through the City’s stormwater charge. The project will see the replacement of the Dundas Street East crossing with a larger bridge structure to eliminate the upstream spill onto Queen Frederica Drive.
“Infrastructure projects always take more time than we would like them to but we understand the need to accelerate the delivery of our capital program, especially after the significant events over the summer and the resulting impacts those have had to our residents and our businesses,” CAO and City manager Geoff Wright said to councillors last week.
“Climate change is upon us and the demands are real for more resilient infrastructure and an operational response.”
Current municipal infrastructure does not have the capacity to handle the reality of our weather in a new climate reality. But everything comes at a price, and Mississauga staff caution the City cannot bear the financial weight alone, while elected officials warn funding will be needed from other levels of government. Mayor Parrish has also repeatedly warned the municipality does not have the money to unilaterally tackle the impacts of climate change and has demanded more financial support from Queen’s Park and Ottawa.
Estimates of the annual stormwater charge for Mississauga residents based on the size of their property and rooftop area.
(City of Mississauga)
To ensure stormwater pipes are replaced at the end of their useful life, an additional $3 billion (in today’s value) will be needed, or $30 million each year to fully fund the City’s stormwater pipe program out to 2124.
The price of ignoring this bill will be more routine flooding and more routine damage to homes.
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Twitter: @mcpaigepeacock
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