Canadian Wet Basement Solutions News

Property owners experiencing water damage in the Bay Colony subdivision of Wasaga Beach prompted a last-minute meeting Monday night where they asked experts for answers.

At the meeting, organized by the Town of Wasaga Beach, victims of flooding had the chance to voice their concerns to council and ask questions of engineers and other experts, including representatives of the Nottawasaga Valley Conservation Authority (NVCA).

Residents in the Bay Colony subdivision, located off 45th Street, began experiencing water problems in February.

Problems worsened and last month, as more and more houses were experiencing flooding, the Bay Colony Ratepayers Association was resurrected.

President Ed Pratt said there are eight homes in the area that have flooded septic systems and two that have severe structural damage. Dozens more have flooded basements.

Some of the residents have lived in their homes for almost 40 years and say they have never experienced any flooding.

Many do not even have sump pumps, as it was not required when the homes were built, and have discovered their insurance companies will not cover the damage.

Paul Kusznirewicz lives on Wildwood Drive.

"I've lived here 20 years and never had a problem," he said.

The footings at Kusznirewicz's home are now giving way, causing structural damage.

Many of the residents in the area have hired Greg Nikolopoulos of Canadian Wet Basement Solutions.

"It's very unusual to see it like this, one by one by one," said Nikolopoulos. "It doesn't make any sense.

He said his crews are working overtime to keep up with demand and not just in Wasaga Beach.

In Clearview Township, one of his clients is pumping almost 1,200 gallons of water per hour from a house.

Experts say the problems are caused by a high water table.

"It's not an exact science," said NVCA engineering and technical services director Glenn Switzer.

He said he doesn't know what is causing the high water table but theorizes that three heavy snowfalls followed by warm cycles causing large melts could have something to do with it.

"The rate of the event allowed more water to go into the groundwater table," he said adding that a cool summer with above average rainfall didn't help.

He said Wasaga Beach is not in this alone and he is fielding calls from people all over the NVCA's territory.

Pratt and many others attending the meeting said they believe construction in the area is a factor.

Residents said water is not flowing through Trillium Creek as it should and they question the installation of the culvert at 45th Street, where Ramblewood Drive and Knox Rd. W. meet.

"There were two thunderstorms last week and I bet you one bucket of water didn't make it to Trillium Creek. The water is not leaving Bay Colony," said Pratt.

He said his main concern is for the people in the neighbourhood who cannot flush their toilets and who have been advised to boil their water because of the flooded septic systems.

Bryan and Susan McKenzie have had their lives affected by flooding.

Their home is wheelchair accessible to meet the needs of their disabled child and they have a special shower in the basement.

Bryan said he did all he could to stop the water from coming into his basement. He installed a back-up generator and got a back-up sump pump but his home still flooded.  

"We can talk about it but we've got to do something immediately," said Pratt.

Mayor Cal Patterson said he will wait for staff to compile a report based on Monday night's meeting and hopes to have something back by Tuesday when council will meet next.