Toronto mayor wants storm water flooding solutions

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow wants city staff to come up with solutions by the end of this year to better prepare the city for storm water flooding and those plans will affect homeowners and how the city plans its infrastructure development.

On Friday, the mayor filed a notice of motion in Toronto city council's July 24 meeting agenda, asking city staff to report on what storm water mitigation programs the city currently offers, and to identify more ways to help homeowners and businesses avoid flooding.

The notice of motion comes days after an intense rainstorm flooded and damaged roads and properties around the GTA.

The notice of motion is also asking that staff look at discontinued storm water mitigation and adaptation programs that could be established in the short term. And to consult on policies that would reduce large-scale paved surfaces in the city that lead to flooding.

The city would also seek public input on what programs and incentives would best helpresidential property owners "to decrease impermeable surfaces and mitigate run-off."

Cityworking on 25-year storm water project: councillor

Coun. Jennifer McKelvie, who chairs the infrastructure and environment committee seconded the mayor's motion, says the city is already working on a 25-year, $3-billion infrastructure project to improve storm water management.

The new motion will look at "what else we can do" to reduce storm water flooding, McKelvie said.

The infrastructure project McKelivie mentioned includes the construction ofthe 22-kilometreCoxwell by-pass tunnel, which willcapture storm water, store it during extreme storms like Tuesday's, then carry it to a treatment plant before it's discharged in Lake Ontario. The tunnel was expected to be finishedthis year, but the city says online work isonly 30 per cent complete.

The city also has a subsidy program already in place that helps people protect their homes from basement flooding. It helps pay for the installation of backwater valves and sump pumps, and offers free front-yard trees and subsidized backyard trees.

Daniel Ivans, an insurance broker with Rates.ca, says installing sump pumps and valves can save a homeowner five to 10 per cent annually on home insurance premiums. He says those savings would make the cost of installation worth it.

"I'd say within the course of a year or two you could have it potentially paid off depending on what sort of device you're getting to protect your home," he said.

WATCH | Torontonianswith flooded basements take stock ofdamage afterstorm:

Residents with flooded basements take stock of the damage after severe storm

2 months ago

Duration 3:33

The cleanup continues in Toronto today, after the storm that wreaked havoc on the city on Tuesday. A torrential downpour caused flooding in a number of areas and damaged hundreds of homes and businesses. CBC's Greg Ross reports.

Under the notice of motion, city staff would look at ways toincrease green infrastructure on boulevards, streets and parking lots tobetter absorb rainwater and reduce run-off.Staff would also be directed to find opportunities to include green infrastructure in large-scale "flood mitigation projects."

Flood mitigation and adaptation "will be a critical component" to the city's climate resilience strategy, the notice said.

Anabela Bonada, a climate adaptation researcher at the University of Waterloo, says the city would be smart to start working to adapt to more extreme weather. In Canada, she says, investment in reducing emissions is seven times higher than investment in adapting to the changing climate.

"We still need to invest in mitigation, like greenhouse gas emission mitigation," Bonada said. "But we also have to start investing in adaptation because we are being impacted in the meantime."