Will City Be Ready For Next Storm? BENN

Here’s the thing about what happens after the unprecedented happens. The next one is not unprecedented.

The rain storms that inundated parts of the west end of Ottawa a few weeks ago have been referred to as unprecedented. No doubt they were. No doubt that the capacity of the storm and sanitary sewers, and in often cases they are one and the same pipe, were inadequate for the deluge. Nothing could have been done about it mid-storm.

The city has done an admirable job of providing varying degrees of assistance to the residents, businesses and organizations that were affected by the storms. Pretty much every day there were garbage trucks picking up water soaked refuse from in front of homes. Resources were provided to help people navigate the types of services that various levels of government and relief agencies can arrange.

Now we get to the tough part. What is the city going to do about storm-proofing the most vulnerable neighbourhoods?

The onus is on homeowners to do what they can to if not prevent then minimize ground water and sewage from flowing into their homes. Installing backflow, or one way valves. Sealing the cracks in the concrete floors in the basement. Perhaps some landscaping to direct overland water away from window wells. Certainly their insurance companies will expect them to take tangible steps. Assuming that the insurance companies will offer flood protection to the buildings in the most vulnerable areas of the city.

Which takes us back to what the city needs to do next. Next being not next week. Next being sometime in the relatively near future.

After the 2018 tornadoes and the 2022 derecho, Hydro Ottawa developed and is implementing a plan to storm proof its power distribution network. Stronger poles have replaced weaker ones. Trees and hedges have been cut back, in some cases rather drastically, to ensure that when the next storm hits – because there will be the next storm – the overhead wires are less vulnerable.

Conservation authorities have made efforts to reinforce vulnerable river banks to limit erosion and overflows.

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What every one of these examples of how to mitigate the damage has in common is that they cost money. Often money that was not budgeted. Just like the unfortunate residents of the west end.

With the city election on the horizon, the time is now to ask the candidates what they believe the city’s priorities should be? Ask them if they are prepared to make the tough financial decisions. Higher taxes? Fewer nice to haves? A more disciplined approach to setting municipal priorities? Greater emphasis on amassing funded capital and operating reserves, which have been depleted over the course of the past decade and change by being raided to balance the budget?

Why? Because the next set of major thunderstorms and tornadoes and derechos and river floods will no longer be unprecedented. Forewarned is forearmed. But only if the city is prepared to acknowledge that it has been forewarned.

Ron Benn is a former finance executive.

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