‘Flooding has become a way of life for us’: Residents trapped in homes they can’t sell angered by Mississauga’s delayed stormwater plans

When wicked summer weather suddenly moves in and the thunder echoes ominously like cannon fire over Mississauga’s Lisgar neighbourhood, a sense of dread paralyzes those below.

“Flooding has become a way of life for us.”

Lisgar resident Glenn Voakes was visibly frustrated during the September 29 Stormwater Advisory Committee meeting inside City Hall. 

Despite pressure from residents in one of Mississauga’s most flood-prone neighbourhoods, it appears the Lisgar community will have to endure at least two more springs of flood risk before long-promised stormwater infrastructure is in place.

“Every time that the skies darken, we go into panic mode.”

Voakes and Lisgar Residents’ Association (LRA) president Suzanne Thistle urged councillors and committee members to accelerate construction of the long-promised fourth pumping station, calling for it to be finished “no later than the end of 2026”. 

Lisgar has been flooding for almost two decades.

“The delayed installation of pumping infrastructure continues to jeopardize the safety, financial stability, and well-being of hundreds of families,” the LRA wrote in its petition presented to council on September 10. 

Despite the high risk of flooding in parts of Mississauga, officials have been slow to mitigate the more frequent threat of severe weather.

(YouTube)

City staff stood by the current timeline: the pumping station, located along the tributary at Osprey Boulevard, is scheduled to come online between July and September two years from now. Construction was first slated to begin this year so the facility would be operational in 2026.

Mississauga Residents' Association Network (MIRANET) member Charlene Haupt says the City’s response was “disappointing”.

“There is [a] very real possibility that the Lisgar neighbourhood may be flooded again before pumping stations 3 and 4 are up and running,” Haupt told The Pointer after the meeting.

“We think if you have a desire, there's a way to get it done by the end of 2026,” Voakes emphasized during the meeting.

“The date for the fourth pumping station is not a firm date. It's an anticipated date, which means nothing, means absolutely nothing.” 

The City’s manager of stormwater projects and approvals, Muneef Ahmad, clarified that the timeline should be understood as an expectation, not an attempt to "weasel".

Ahmad says the project is still in the pre-qualification stage, with contractors expected to be approved by December. Since no contract has been awarded yet, the City is basing its estimate on timelines from similar projects, such as the ongoing dredging of Osprey Pond.

Ward 10 Councillor Sue McFadden confirmed at the meeting that dredging of Osprey Pond started as of September 29. It was initially promised for September 2025, pushed to October 2026, then moved back to this year.

Ahmad said while the delay is understandably frustrating, it’s important to note the pond’s quantity control function, the part responsible for managing the volume of water, is not significantly impacted by the dredging timeline. 

“It’s cold comfort, I suppose, but the dredging relates to the clean-out of material below the water line, which primarily supports the stormwater quality management function,” he explained.

The City has progressed into the technical details of the project but encountered scheduling limitations tied to ecological and environmental regulations, including restrictions on in-water work to protect fisheries and habitat, which “made the overall schedule longer than anticipated,” Ahmad added.

Since 2008, the northwest Mississauga neighbourhood has been hit by at least nine significant floods, leaving homeowners with an estimated $125 million in out-of-pocket costs. Insurance companies have largely walked away, premiums have soared and families remain trapped in houses they cannot sell, insure, or fully protect.

The summer of 2024 was the most destructive and costliest season in Canadian history for insured losses due to severe weather, with damages exceeding $8.5 billion. Catastrophic events like wildfires, floods and hailstorms affected hundreds of thousands of Canadians and significantly pressured home insurance premiums nationwide — the July and August storms in the Greater Toronto Area alone cost $1.1 billion.

(Insurance Bureau of Canada)

Across Canada, the financial toll of flooding is staggering. Since 2013, insured damages have averaged $850 million every year, and about one in ten households now face flood risks so severe they can’t buy coverage at all. For families in places like Lisgar, that leaves them effectively stranded, unable to repair, sell, or insure their homes.

The Canadian Climate Institute estimates building in flood-and wildfire-prone areas carries significant financial risks, with damages to new housing in Canada reaching up to $3 billion annually. By 2030, even under the best-case scenario, annual flood-related losses could rise by $330 million. In a worst-case scenario, that figure could soar to as much as $2 billion per year.

(Canadian Climate Institute)

Voakes also highlighted a glaring disparity: unlike other flood-prone areas in Mississauga, “Lisgar has never received a penny of federal grants.”

“Some homeowners in non-Lisgar areas have been awarded up to $250,000 flooding compensation per house from the feds for flood damages going back, I believe, to 2013. For the most part, flood victims in Lisgar are now unable to get flood insurance.” 

City staff confirmed that the basement flooding prevention rebate and the recently approved flood resilience rebate programs are both active and accepting applications.

Lisgar residents also called on the City to arrange a session with the Insurance Bureau of Canada to explore solutions for residents struggling with these issues.

Beyond the overwhelming financial strain, the emotional toll is even greater.

Councillor McFadden shared that she herself had lost family photos and children’s artwork to flooding.

Flooded basements have become a common occurrence for residents of the Lisgar neighbourhood in Mississauga.

(Lisgar Residents Association)

Having lived and experienced flooding as a Ward 10 resident, Voakes questioned why McFadden was not part of the Stormwater Advisory Committee.

“Why has Councillor McFadden graciously not been asked to participate? Even if there was a concern the [Stormwater Advisory Committee] selection process was closed when she became available. There have been several precedents the City has made in the past for both councillors and residents after the deadline date passed,” he said.

“I ask the storm water management council members to take the necessary action to have Sue appointed to this committee to represent her long-suffering Lisgar residents. She should be at that table with you.”

The Pointer reached out to McFadden to ask if she would consider joining the committee. “In the spring, I put forward a motion to ask Council to change the terms of reference to permit up to 4 councillors to serve on this committee and to appoint me to it,” she replied. “Unfortunately, a majority of my colleagues did not want to discuss it.”

A 2024 report noted Mississauga ranks third and Brampton fifth among Ontario’s most flood-prone cities, due to topography/watersheds, dense populations, prone infrastructure and rapid urbanization.

(MyChoice)

Being the third most flood-prone city in Ontario, things are likely not going to improve from here in Mississauga.

A 2022 report from the Financial Accountability Office of Ontario warned that climate-induced extreme rainfall could cost municipalities an additional $700 million annually just to maintain existing stormwater systems. Without immediate upgrades, overall infrastructure costs could rise by 27 percent. 

So far, Mississauga has invested over $265 million in stormwater upgrades since 2016 and committed $311 million more through 2034. 

The City’s Climate Change Action Plan warns that by 2050, storms like the two 100-year events the city experienced in 2024 will occur every six years instead of every 40. Annual rainfall is projected to increase by 70 millimetres. “Extreme events like lightning and thunderstorms, snowstorms, freezing rain, hail, powerful winds, droughts, wildfires, flooding and storm surges are expected to become more intense,” staff previously told The Pointer.

“The people in our community just can’t take another flood,” Thistle reminded the committee.

Housing damages from flooding are also forecasted to jump 40 percent by 2030 if development continues in flood zones, a 2025 Canadian Climate Institute report warns.

That spells trouble for the Lisgar neighbourhood since it was built on land historically known as “the Catholic Swamp”, a low-lying wetland with slow-draining, clay-heavy soil. 

In the 1980s, creeks were straightened, drainage systems were installed in utility trenches, and homes were built with weeping tiles to divert water away.

But the system never worked as intended. Instead of draining stormwater safely, the clay-heavy soil holds it in place, forcing groundwater to rise and seep directly into basements. Every new subdivision along Ninth Line, every additional basement apartment, has only added to the strain.

A 2015 City report acknowledged Lisgar’s engineered stormwater design was fundamentally flawed. Yet officials denied responsibility, telling residents they were on their own, leaving the community reliant on stopgap measures like temporary pump trucks until permanent pumping stations could be built.

“A single sump pump will not suffice,” Thistle said, noting some residents have seen their basements take on more than 19,000 gallons of water within three to five minutes. That’s close to 400,000 gallons of water per hour coming into homes, and no retail sump pump can handle that. 

She stressed that backwater valves fail under the sheer pressure of volume-based flooding, making current rebate options insufficient for Lisgar’s conditions.

MIRANET member Charlene Haupt says these challenges are exacerbated by a “troubling lack of publicly accessible data on urban stormwater flooding”.

The Credit Valley Conservation Authority (CVC) provides floodplain maps for rivers and creeks, but those don’t reflect the real threats facing Lisgar: groundwater seepage, stormwater backup and subsurface drainage failures.

“These [flooding] risks are not captured in traditional floodplain maps, which focus solely on river overflow zones,” Haupt explained.

“CVC’s regulatory floodplain maps delineate natural water courses in hazard lands, but they exclude urban stormwater flooding, engineered floodplains tied to stormwater infrastructure, groundwater and subsurface drainage failures and localized flooding from extreme rainfall and snowmelt.” 

Following the 2013 flooding events, the City of Mississauga also conducted hydrological studies, including groundwater monitoring and stormwater infrastructure assessments in Lisgar, but this data remains inaccessible to the public and is not included in any interactive mapping tools.

“As density increases across Mississauga, the reduction in permeable surfaces and biomass capable of absorbing rainfall will only exacerbate these risks,” she said. 

The City Planning Data Hub reveals that approximately 35 percent of the city’s land is low-density residential, seven to ten percent is high-density residential, and 25 to 30 percent is commercial or industrial. Low-density areas provide greater permeability, while high-density and industrial zones increase runoff and strain stormwater systems.

The City’s green development standards also emphasize low-impact strategies like permeable paving, bioswales and rain gardens. 

Residents are calling for stronger policies and tools to mitigate flooding risks, including access to interactive mapping tools which mention overlays for riverine flooding, urban stormwater flooding, groundwater seepage and subsurface drainage failures. They also propose public consultation through municipal meetings, design changes for flood-prone areas, such as raised homes without basements and reforms to encourage permeable paving in low-density residential areas.

McFadden stated that for the new developments in the Lisgar community, she has “insisted” emphatically that all construction along Lisgar Drive include permeable pavement, sump pumps, backwater valves, and double the number of trees to absorb groundwater.

“Unless policies are strengthened, Canada’s housing boom will increase the cost of living for homeowners and renters living in hazardous areas who will face frequent damage and costly repairs. And all Canadians will pay through ever-rising insurance premiums and tax-funded government disaster recovery efforts, even if they live outside the highest-hazard areas,” A 2025 Canadian Climate Institute report warns.

(Canadian Climate Institute)

More transparency, better access to data and meaningful collaboration will also solve insurance issues for the community to some extent.

In a recent conversation with a representative from the Insurance Bureau of Canada, Haupt asked whether homes with the fourth pumping station in operation would once again become eligible for flood insurance. 

“She said that it would depend on the specific insurance company. But theoretically, if the floodplain maps of the city are updated to reflect the new reality where those risks have been minimized, then some companies would indeed look at that information and reconsider giving those homes that are now uninsurable access to flood insurance once again,” Haupt said.

“It's just not okay for residents and Lisgar in particular to have to go flood after flood after flood after flood, where they have no insurance…We just strongly feel that they need to get that last pumping station done yesterday. You cannot drag it out any further,” MIRANET chair Sue Shanly told The Pointer.

McFadden said she can't say that the City will ever get the flooding issue “fully under control. Mother Nature is not very nice at times, but we're doing our best, certainly in the Lisgar community.” 

“To me…every time it rains, I get the sweats and worry about all my residents suffering.”

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