It’s not the sexiest issue. But it is the kind of bread-and-butter work that needs to be done to save city residents from suffering that most annoying issue faced by homeowners — basement flooding. 

In 2006 the City of Toronto launched the Basement Flooding Protection Program to study and reduce the risk of flooding in areas of the city that have experienced problems during severe storms. If all goes well, the 10-year plan (budgeted at $1.64 billion) should save residents hours of grief and hassle, especially in the Midtown Toronto area centred around Yonge Street and Eglinton Avenue, where basement flooding has long been a part of life.

“Yonge and Eglinton, if it’s an older house, if the weeping tiles are giving way, if it has old windows that hit the base of the foundation and the windows are exposed, you’re going to have flooding,” said Joy Verde, of Re/Max Hallmark Realty Ltd., Brokerage. “If it’s a new house, it’s not as much a concern. But in that central region almost up to Lawrence, around the Chatsworth Ravine, if there are ravines under the home, that’s going to be an issue.”

Verde said that flooding is a concern for first-time homebuyers in the area. “The repairs are expensive and they don’t pay you back. As well, mould is a real concern today. No one talked about that 25 years ago. But they do now.”

Mae Lee, a senior public consultation co-ordinator in the City of Toronto’s R. C. Harris Public Advisory Committee, said that the basement flooding protection plan will help “reduce the risk of flooding in the study area through infrastructure upgrade planning such as larger sewer pipes, storm water ponds and, or, underground storage tanks.”

The Yonge-Eglinton area is officially known as study area 40, one of 67 study areas citywide. The surveys began in areas of the city where greater densities of flooding generated more complaints, but after the extreme rain storm on July 8, 2013, Toronto City Council expanded the study to cover the remaining areas.

For 2016, the budget for these studies is $71 million. For area 40, the engineering assessment study will take about 20 months to complete. Public information centres will be held in 2016 and 2017 in local schools and community centres.

Until those improvements are made, Verde has some basic advice: “If you want to fix this, change the topography of the lot. Make sure water drains away from the house. Don’t dig, which is what a contractor will tell you to do. Grade the land so water drains away,” said Verde.

For more information on the study and advice for homeowners, visit www.toronto.ca/basementflooding.