City of Brantford Council unanimously approved an additional $150,000 for the Basement Flooding Prevention Grant program during the regular Council meeting on Tuesday, July 28, 2026.
The decision comes after city residents were impacted by a significant rainfall event on Tuesday, July 21, 2026, during which some areas of the city received 30 millimetres of rain in a one-hour period, resulting in both surface and basement flooding.
Originally established in 2017, the Basement Flooding Prevention Grant was reactivated in 2024 following a similar rainfall event that took place that July. It has since remained an ongoing program supporting residents across the city.
The program is designed to provide grants of up to $5,000 per property for home improvements that reduce the risk of basement flooding, including the installation of approved backwater valve, new sump pit and pump with a battery backup, and the disconnecting, capping, and/or redirecting of downspouts.
In an urgent report brought forward by Silvi Kongara, Commissioner of Public Works, last Tuesday, staff said the City received more than 20 reports of basement flooding following the recent rainfall event.
Given the increased demand for the program, staff were requesting an additional $150,000 from the City’s Corporate Contingency Reserve to increase the available funding for the rest of the year to $350,000.
During the meeting, delegate Andrew Davis told Council that he’s seen firsthand how basement flooding has been a growing concern over the past several years.
“In many cases, even after significant investment, including extensive exterior work, foundation repairs, installation of backwater valves, and sump pumps, flooding issues are still happening,” he said.
Davis went on to say that while he supported initiatives that aim to help residents, he couldn’t help but wonder if the city was dealing with a “broader stormwater capacity issue,” and called for a review of the city’s north end stormwater infrastructure capacity from Lynden Road to Powerline Road.
“Lynden Road floods enough to cause major disruptions and closures, and residents north of the Lynden/Fairview area worry with every rainfall about potential damages to their home,” he said. “…I firmly believe that addressing city-owned root causes should come before relying on programs aimed at home owner level solutions.”
Davis continued, saying that although the grants are helpful, many residents can’t afford to front between $3,000 to $5,000 or more on home improvements, and then wait to be reimbursed. He also added that issues with flooding are upping residents’ insurance rates and deductibles, even sharing the following text message he received from a fellow homeowner.
“Our insurance deductible now is over $3,500. If we get another flood, we have to either fix it ourselves or risk having our insurance not cover us anymore,” the text said. “We tried to shop around, but we have been told by other insurance companies that they wouldn’t even cover us for any of the water damages.”
Councillor Richard Carpenter later asked Kongara if the City had anything in place to minimize flooding in older neighbourhoods as well as any new developments going forward, and she confirmed that City does have plans to look into its infrastructure.
Carpenter went on to say that he’s been speaking to residents who have recently been experiencing floods, and has been informed that an out-of-town company has been telling people that in order to prevent flooding, they should be installing a check valve on the sanitary line inside the house.
“But this is an issue, as I understand it, from stormwater management,” he said. “So the check valve that’s going to prevent water from coming into your home, needs to be outside of your house to prevent it from getting to the weeping tile in the first place, am I correct?”
Kongara said that yes, putting a check valve on the stormwater lateral would provide more protection, but that flooding has happened through both sanitary and stormwater systems in the past.
She said that residents have the option through the grant system, to install a check valve on either one or both of the lines, but it’s up to them to decide how much they want to invest as the City’s grant program pays 80 per cent of the cost up to $5,000.
Councillor Dan McCreary asked if the city provides grant applicants with a list of local contractors who they know will do proper work, and Kongara confirmed that staff refer them to a list of licensed contractors on the City’s website.
Carpenter, during a second speaking opportunity, requested that staff do more to educate residents about protecting their home.
“The people in the community are worried. They were flooded out two years ago and they’ve been flooded out again. Their insurance is telling them ‘we’re not going to cover you,’ or that their deductible is going to be $3,500, as we heard from Mr. Davis earlier. Some of them may not get insurance at all,” he said. “The concern here is the proper education about what needs to be done to best protect their home, and I don’t think they’re getting that advice from contractors coming to the door. I’d like us to make sure that doesn’t happen. I want the residents to be protected from this.”
Kongara said staff typically put out information through social media and the City website, but that they could certainly put together a more comprehensive education program.
The request for an additional $150,000 for the Basement Flooding Prevention Grant program was then unanimously approved.
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
