With climate change, experts expect floods from heavy rains to happen more frequently, and municipal authorities are struggling to come up with ways to protect property, including amending laws.
“So we don’t create problems for the future,” explained Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante.
She suggests boroughs consider doing what she has done in certain areas of the borough of Ville-Marie, where she’s also borough mayor.
“Where it will not be allowed anymore to build new housing with a basement that people will have to live in, because we know they can be flooded,” she pointed out.
The struggle to protect properties comes after the costliest weather event in Quebec’s history. In August, the remnants of tropical storm Debby brought up to 175 millimetres of rain to some parts of the province in hours. It caused widespread flooding, power outages and washed-out roads. Montreal was particularly hard hit, with some residents finding their basements completely unlivable.
City of Montreal executive committee member responsible for waterworks, Maja Vodanovic, told Global News that other measures are being implemented in some other boroughs as well, if the property is in a low area where water naturally flows.
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“You can no longer have an apartment in a basement, in a low point,” she stressed. “You can no longer have a garage in the basement, if you’re in a low point.”
The low points are not necessarily flood zones. To see if your property or street is in a low area, the city has a map on its website that shows all those areas in blue.
“The maps are incredibly detailed,” said Vodanovic, who is also borough mayor for Lachine. “You can go house by house.”
If your house is in a depression and your basement is at risk, the city also suggests not using your basement as a living space.
According to Vodanovic, a ban on basements in new construction is also coming in her borough, “but only in problematic zones.” She said builders have already been warned.
Other elected officials, like Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough Mayor Dimitrios Jim Beis, say asking homeowners to not use their basement as a living space could have serious financial implications.
“This is far reaching,” he told Global News. “I mean, if you look at a residential community like mine where we have almost 18,000 homes, for example, the majority of them have basements. What do we tell these folks?”
Saint-Laurent borough mayor Alan DeSousa agrees and pointed out that property values would decline if home owners could no longer use their basement as a living space.
Beis believes other measures should be considered before going that route, like changing infrastructure, educating and helping people flood proof their homes.
As for banning basements in new construction he believes it’s not necessary.
“In the flood zones there are strict (provincial) requirements put in place that impose water proofing your basement,” he noted.
So if a basement can be flood-proofed in a flood zone, he argues it can be done for other areas. Neither he nor DeSousa have no plans to take Plante’s suggestion — at least for now.
Experts point out this is a debate that will continue to rage as residents and municipalities grapple with how to adapt to a changing climate.
© 2024 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.
