Basement Flooding in Kitchener-Waterloo: Three Cities, Three Sets of Rules and the Same Wet Basement

Work out which kind of flooding you have

Sewer backup arrives from below, at the floor drain, a basement toilet or a laundry standpipe, during or just after heavy rain, and it smells like sewage. Older parts of Kitchener’s core, Waterloo’s uptown and Galt in Cambridge are most exposed. Groundwater arrives at the wall-floor joint, through cracks and window wells, after long rains and in the spring thaw; the Region’s clay-heavy soils hold water against foundations. Surface water comes over window wells and under doors where grading slopes toward the house.

Photograph where the water first appeared and when. That answer decides whether you need a plumber for a backwater valve, a waterproofer for drainage, a landscaper for grading, or a call to your city about the connection.

What the fixes do, and who subsidizes them

A backwater valve is a one-way flap on the sanitary lateral that closes when the sewer surcharges so sewage cannot flow back into the house; while it is closed nothing in the house drains, which is why plumbers say not to run water during a storm. A sump pump with a pit collects groundwater from the foundation drain and pumps it outside; a battery backup keeps it running through the outages that arrive with the storms. Disconnecting the foundation drain from the sanitary sewer, where it is connected, takes groundwater out of an overloaded system.

Each of the three cities decides for itself whether to subsidize this work, and the programs change. Check your own city’s current page for backwater valve and sump pump programs before you sign a quote, and ask the plumber to quote the valve and the pump separately so you can see what each protects against. Any such work needs a licensed plumber and a city plumbing permit.

• Your city’s current program checked for eligibility
• Licensed plumber and city plumbing permit number
• Camera inspection recording and locate
• Sump pump tested and battery backup quoted
• Grading and downspouts checked around the foundation

Who owns which pipe

In all three cities the owner is responsible for the sewer lateral on private property up to the property line, and the city for the section from the property line to the main. The Region of Waterloo operates the trunk sewers and treatment plants behind the city systems, and the water supply in front of them. A camera inspection with a locate tells you which side a break or blockage is on; if it is the city’s, contact the city, and if it is yours, the repair is yours. Keep the recording, because an insurer will want it for a sewer backup claim.

Sewer backup and overland water are usually separate add-ons on an Ontario home policy, and insurers commonly ask whether a backwater valve is installed.

Older houses and student rentals

Century homes in Kitchener’s core and Waterloo’s uptown often have no weeping tile and stone or brick foundations that groundwater passes through; waterproofing there is excavation, a membrane and new drainage. Student rental houses around the universities are often the last to get a working sump pump; landlords are responsible for maintaining them under Ontario’s Residential Tenancies Act, and tenants should report water in writing. In every case, extend downspouts well away from the foundation and fix the grading before spending on anything underground.