Warwick residents eligible for sanitary system improvement grants

Warwick is offering grants to help residents with sump pump and backwater valve costs, in the wake of an August storm that flooded the municipality.

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There’s been no official count on how many basements were soaked by the Aug. 23 storm officials have said dumped up to 180 mm of rain within five hours, closing roadways and a section of Highway 402, and shifting a section of Zion Line.

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But “the impacts were widespread, very widespread,” said township CAO Amanda Gubbels.

Residents can apply for up to $3,000 to help both cover the cost of installing a backwater valve and of disconnecting a sump pump from the sanitary sewer.

Council approved the municipally-funded program Nov. 13, Gubbels said, noting it’s similar to one in Plympton-Wyoming.

Applications can be backdated to Aug. 23, and are being accepted until the municipality sets its 2024 budget, she said.

“Council really wanted to offer something to address some of the concerns from the Aug. 23 flood and … this is one way we can alleviate the pressure on the infrastructure in those kind of abnormal weather events,” she said.

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Sump pumps should not be connected to the sanitary sewer, but it appears some are, she said.

“Because of the volume of sanitary backups,” she said. “Rainfall shouldn’t affect backing up of sanitary systems if they are all connected appropriately.”

Preference in awarding grants will be given to properties in “high-risk areas” of the municipality with a history of wastewater backups, she said, adding that’s generally in urban areas and “has to do with elevations.”

All municipal properties with sanitary service are eligible, she said about the program “primarily to address connection issues and protection to the existing system.”

Officials are also still tallying the storm’s cost, she said.

While the expense of fixing Zion Line and culvert repairs isn’t yet known, the tally so far is $62,000, mostly for fixing gravel roads, but also some smaller-scale hard surface repairs, she said.

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The total cost is expected to exceed the threshold – three per cent of municipal tax revenue – to apply for Municipal Disaster Recovery Assistance funding, she said, noting that threshold for Warwick is $85,000.

An application is expected in December, she said.

A separate application has also been made for Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians funding, for which – if approved – impacted residents would be able to make applications directly to the province for funds, Gubbels said.

Warwick would schedule information sessions on how to apply if approval happens, she said.

“We are currently waiting for the Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing to consider the application and to make a decision on approval or not,” she said, adding there’s no timeline for when that decision might come.

Application details are available at warwicktownsip.ca.

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