New tool promises fewer flooded basements in Hamilton

Hamilton is a test spot for a new system that creators say will eventually prevent flooding and also lower insurance premiums in the city.

The Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC) launched the Municipal Risk Assessment Tool (MRAT) in a media event Thursday. The tool uses various data to determine where future flooding will happen, and willprevent it and eventually result in fewer insurance claims, said Ralph Palumbo, IBCs Ontario vice-president.

It willbe a welcome change in a city fraught with flooding issues in recent years. Storms such as the one experienced in summer 2009 have left hundreds of flooded basements, particularly in the east end, Stoney Creek and certain areas of the Mountain.

The MRAT will predict future flooding, said John McLennan, the citys manager of risk management services. Then the citywill know more where to spend its stretched infrastructure dollars.

It might be that we thought the vulnerable neighbourhood was neighbourhood A, he said. With the addition of MRAT, it might be neighbourhood B. Its another tool.

Hamilton is one of three cities testing the tool. Port Coquitlam, B.C. and Fredericton, N.B. also launched it Thursday. Natural Resources Canada contributed $500,000 to the project, which Palumbo saidcost between $2 million and $3 million.

The tool could eventually mean lower premiums for Hamiltonians, Palumbo said.

If the MRAT identifies a risk area and the city spends money readying its infrastructure, in the end, its a lower cost to insurers and predictably lower premiums to citizens.

The tool uses weather data, information on the citys infrastructure and insurance claims to determine the risk offlooding in a neighbourhood. Not all neighbourhoods in Hamilton can get insurance for flooding, so theres no claim data for them.

But Paul Donahue of Dylan Consulting, which developed the system, said those areas will be measured using the other data.

The pilot goes for one or two years, Palumbo said. The IBC will make a presentation to city councillors in early 2014 to explain the project.

The city isnt contributing any tax dollars to the project, McLennan said.

It does provide compassionate grants for flooded homes.Since 2005, the city has paid out$5 million in compassionate grants for homes that experienced floods. Since 2009, it has provided another $10 million in grants for plumbing that prevents future flooding.

Last year, it paid 218 residents a total of $164,000 in compassionate grants.