Burlington, Ont. – Sept. 16, 2014—The City of Burlington has announced flood-related initiatives, including plans for a flood reduction study and the establishment of citizen engagement groups of residents in flood-affected areas.
The city provided the update at its Development and Infrastructure Committee meeting on Sept. 8. A reported 3,097 homes were flooded as the result of 191 millimetres of rain over eight hours on Aug. 4.
“The Burlington Community Foundation is leading a community-driven effort to help meet the immediate financial needs of those affected by flooding. The city is now turning its attention to mitigating future flooding,” said Mayor Rick Goldring. “The Aug. 4 storm had an enormous impact on people’s lives. The city is committed to ensuring the safety of its residents, and has hired one of Ontario’s leading storm water experts to help.”
Flood Reduction Study
The city has hired Ron Scheckenberger, an engineer and storm water expert with AMEC Engineering, to work with city staff to analyze the Aug. 4 storm and its impacts on Burlington’s storm water system. The resulting report will recommend future actions to minimize the potential for flooding. Results from the study will be available in spring 2015.
“Municipalities have traditionally designed storm water and sanitary sewer systems based on past performance during storms,” said Scott Stewart, general manager of development and infrastructure. “With global climate change, we now need to prepare the best way we can for storms of the future.”
Citizen Engagement Groups
The city will be working with its regional and Halton Conservation Authority partners and, most importantly, with the flood victims to develop specific measures to mitigate the risk of flooding in the future. Details about the citizen groups will be available soon.
Background
The storm of Aug. 4, 2014, dropped nearly 191 millimetres of rain over parts of Burlington in about eight hours. The city activated its Emergency Operations Centre, the Burlington Fire Department responded to emergencies across the city and the city’s roads and parks maintenance staff moved quickly to close affected roads and respond to urgent flood conditions and hazards.
The city applied for Ontario Disaster Relief Program (ODRAP) funding from the province. To be eligible, a community-led committee must raise money that ODRAP could match 2:1. The Burlington Community Foundation fundraising campaign has a goal of $2 million to help pay for the urgent needs of those affected by the flood.
The city and Halton Region hired the Canadian Red Cross to conduct door-to-door visits of nearly 11,000 homes in the flood-affected areas. Samaritan’s Purse organized volunteers to clean up homes, especially basements impacted by flood damage. The Burlington Firefighters’ Association volunteers helped with the cleanups.
The city and the region both set up website pages to provide storms updates at www.burlington.ca/flood and www.halton.ca/flood.
How to Help
Donations to the Burlington Community Foundation’s flood relief campaign can be made by visiting www.burlingtonfoundation.org/flood.
Residents and businesses that have items or services to donate can post their information at www.burlington.ca/flood on the city’s Community Bulletin Board.
-30-
Communications contact:
Sharon Will
Communications Advisor
Office: 905-335-7600, ext. 7483
email: sharon.will@burlington.ca
Media contact:
Allan Magi
Director, Capital Works
Office: 905-335-7600, ext. 7379
email: allan.magi@burlington.ca
