BRENDA O’FARRELL
The 1510 West

Any homeowner who has lived through a flooding incident caused by an intense weather event knows the sense of dread, stress and panic that comes when there is a prediction of heavy rains in the forecast.

The trauma of watching your basement fill with water in a storm, unfortunately, has become a shared experience for many in the West Island, with two major flooding events recorded in the last two years. In addition to the cost and disruption of repairing the damage, these incidents have also had a psychological effect that now triggers worry and concern whenever there are heavy downpours expected. But for a group of homeowners in Pointe Claire, the most recent flooding event during fierce rains in July has galvanized their resolve to push the city to act to ensure storm drains are clear.

“In our area there is an issue, and the city has acknowledged that,” said resident Katherine Baxter in an interview this week with The 1510 West. “Now, they have to take action.”

Baxter lives on Saddlewood Avenue, in an area just north of the railway tracks, south of Terra Cotta Park and west of the Pointe Claire’s public works building, which is being expanded. The city has acknowledged the flooding that occurred in that sector during a rainstorm July 13 was “an anomaly,” with Pointe Claire Mayor Tim Thomas explaining the city is looking into the situation.

One of the contributing factors to the situation in that area is maintenance of drain pipes that run under the Canadian National and Canadian Pacific railway tracks, Thomas said. The city has requested the companies ensure the drains are clear.

Baxter pressed council for a timeline of when drain inspections will be carried out.

Inquiries made by The 1510 West to both rail companies for comment have gone unanswered.

CP has cleaned its drainage pipes, said Chloe Paiement, communications manager with the City of Pointe Claire said yesterday, adding the city is awaiting confirmation from CN.

“We are going to continue to push,” Baxter told council. “We are not going away. We are going to continue to advocate for ourselves.

“We watch the weather app and our children have panic attacks when there is rain in the forecast,” she added.

“I’ve got no more money left,” said Lorraine Chiasson, another resident of the area who suffered damage when her basement was flooded in August 2024 and again last month. “What am I supposed to do now? We need a timeline: When and what is going to be done?” she asked elected officials at the Aug. 12 council meeting. “How many more floods do we have to endure?”

During the most recent storm on July 13, according to residents, storm drains in the neighbourhood overflowed, sending what they described as “rivers” of runoff down their street and in to their basements.

Claudine Mercier was one of the storm’s victims. The backflow valve in her house on St. Louis Avenue “literally blew off from the pressure,” she told council. There was so much water, the French drain around her house failed.

“Once that overflowed, it came in from everywhere, and there was no way to get the water out,” she told council. “I had a river flowing on the side of my house,” she continued.

“We appreciate the sympathy,” Mercier said. “Beside the sympathy, we need to start taking action.”

Thomas said the city is looking at a number of ways to mitigate the pressure put on infrastructure from severe storms that send unprecedented amounts of rain in short periods of time into the drainage system, testing its capacity. These measures, he said, involve implement a number of so-called green infrastructure improvements to absorb and divert runoff.

He listed a number of measures already implemented, including creating open-air retention basins at Hermitage Park, upgrading underground pipes on Masson and Holiday, underground retention basins along two stretches of Hymus, new pipes on Cartier, adding retention basins in the parking lot at the public works building, adding drainage features as part of the redesign of Winthrop Avenue.

“You want to see action? There has been action,” Thomas said. “There has been action for over a decade. Do you want to see more action? You probably will see more action. We are doing our best with our resources.

“And to suggest that we are somehow culpable or at fault is, I think, a little harsh,” he added.

But that did not satisfy some of the residents at the meeting.

“I should not have a three-foot lake in front of my house every time it rains,” said resident Mike Nurse, who lives on St. Louis. “There is a problem with the manholes and it can be fixed.”

Nurse pressed the city to have all drainage systems inspected.

Pointe Claire director-general Karina Verdon said she has requested a report from the city’s public works department, which is expected by the end of the month. Verdon could not be reached for additional comment.