Amherstburg staff, not engineer, to study flood cause

Amherstburg will not hire an engineer to investigate what caused more than 500 homes to flood during a severe storm in August.

Instead, town staff will study preventative measures.

Mayor Wayne Hurst says council believes this is the more prudent step.

"They're going to look at a reduced investigation, such as smoke testing and the like;and using, of course, a camera. That's going to give them a clear indication of what is there," Hurst said. "And it's going to allow people to be informed as to exactly some of the steps they can do to help reduce the chances of having that water."

The report should be ready in time for the 2012 budget meetings.

Amherstburg resident Donna Hibbert said the flooding caused $30,000 in damage at her home.

She wants the town to look at a subsidy program like the one Windsor has.

"What the resident would do is install a backflow preventer in their home and the city will pay 80 per cent of the cost. That would prevent the backup of the sewer in our homes," she said.