Once the City of Windsor completes all 36 projects designed to prevent flooding, it will be able to handle another major rain event like the one experienced in 2017.
As raindrops fell, Ward 6 Councillor JoAnne Gignac gave an update on the city's progress under an eight-point plan to address flooding in front of the St. Paul Pumping Station in East Windsor.
She said eight of the nine projects started last year are complete. The city is ready to break ground on 11 more this year and 16 next year, including sewer and road replacement on Lauzon Parkway.
Heavy rain in Windsor-Essex caused flooding across many roadways in the region, also affecting homes and businesses on September 29, 2016. (Photo by Ricardo Veneza)
"Most of the projects will reach completion between 2023 and 2024, with the exception of the Lauzon Parkway project which we anticipate will be completed by 2026," said Gignac. "In total we're investing over $180-million over three years."
The projects are part of the city's $5-billion plan to mitigate the impacts of climate change.
Projects this year include the expansion of the St. Paul Pumping Station. Tenders on that work go out this month, and construction should start this fall.
"The new pumping station will have an increased capacity of 9.3 cubic metres per second, so almost doubling the current capacity," said Pumping Station Supervisor Joe Coonan. "Storm water will come into the pumping station where it's discharged into the river. It allows the system to de-water quicker than it would without it."
Capacity at the St. Rose Pumping Station, the East March Pumping Station, and the Pontiac Pumping Station near the Little River Pollution Control Plant will also be increased. The environmental assessment for the St. Rose Pumping Station is currently underway.
A man uses a paddle board to get around Glendale Ave. in east Windsor following widespread flooding, August 29, 2017. (Photo courtesy of Mike Hello)
In addition to the improvements in infrastructure, Windsor has made downspout disconnections mandatory and funded the cost of backflow valves and sump pumps in homes. It is investigating whether to include the disconnection of weeping tiles for sanitary sewers and adding sewage ejection pumps to the Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program.
The City of Windsor announced its eight-point plan and intentions to accelerate its Sewer Master Plan after 220 mm of rain fell in August 2017. The flood was the second in two years and the biggest in the city's history. It caused $175-million in damages, and impacted thousands of homes.
The second biggest flood was in September 2016, when 190 mm of rain fell.