Flood Prevention Homeowner Resources

• The end of the downspout should extend approximately five feet away from your home.
• Point the downspout towards the driveway, sidewalk, lawn or garden where the water can safely be absorbed into the ground or flow to a sewer grate on the road. Ensure the spout is not directed towards a neighbouring property.
• Downspout pipe can be purchased from local hardware stores to help extend the length and direction of your downspout.    

IMPORTANT: If your home was built before 1969, your downspout may be connected directly to the sanitary sewer system. In the event of a heavy rainfall, storm water from your downspout has the potential to overwhelm the sanitary sewer system and cause sewer water to either enter your home or cause sewer backup into a neighbouring home through the basement.

Halton Region's Voluntary Downspout Disconnection program covers the cost of downspout disconnections for residents living in specific areas of Burlington. To learn more about the downspout disconnection program, visit www.halton.ca or dial 311.

• Ensure the ground around your home, including under decks and stairs, slopes away from the house. 
• Use silicon caulking to seal cracks and spaces in concert surfaces next the foundation of the house where water might get in.
• Install window wells around your basement windows to keep water out of your basement.

• If you have window wells around basement windows, check them throughout the year to ensure they are clear of snow in the winter and clear of debris in the spring and fall.
• Clear your eavestroughs regularly to remove leaves, twigs and other debris so they can direct water away from your home.
• Keep storm drains on your street clear of leaves and other debris to keep water from accumulating outside your home.

• Consider using a rain barrel to collect overflow water to prevent accumulation around your home.
• Consider installing a rain garden designed to take advantage of rainfall and stormwater runoff in its layout and plant selection. 

If your home was built before 1970, consider disconnecting the foundation drains (weepers) from the sanitary sewer and install a sump pump.

Sump pumps are designed to remove water from around the foundation of a home and safely pump it to the surface, away from the building.

How it works
The sump is a pit or hole located in the lowest part of the basement floor. Once water rises to a certain height in the pit, the pump is triggered and water is carried through the discharge pipe, out of the house to the surface. 

Read more about sump pumps. 

A backwater valve can help prevent sewage from a sanitary sewer line from backing up into your basement.

How it works

The backwater valve is placed directly into the sewer pipe that comes into the basement of the home. If sewage begins backing up from the main sanitary sewer, the  valve automatically closes.

Read more about backwater valves. 

• Leave your basement unfinished.

• When finishing a basement, use materials that can stand up to water and moisture. Choose finishing systems that include waterproof wall panels, moisture-proof drop ceilings, mould-proof PVC moldings and water-resistant underfloor systems to help reduce the risk from water damage.

• Do not store valuable family possessions like photos and documents in the basement. If kept in the basement, ensure they are kept in plastic, water-tight sealed containers.

Read more about basement flooding.