CityFloodMap.Com

Identify Flood Risks with the Toronto Flood Map

The Toronto Flood Map can help answer questions for Toronto residents, businesses, tenants, home-buyers, builders, insurance policy holders and insurance brokers / adjusters /actuaries interested in flood risk:

Is a neighbourhood at risk of flooding during severe rain storms? Along what roads or portions of roads have property owners reported flooding during large rainfall events (July 8, 2013, August 19, 2005, May 12, 2000)?
Is the area you are considering buying or renting in flood prone (so does the property of interest have flood risk mitigation measures in place, like a backflow valve to control sewer back-ups, or good lot drainage to keep runoff away from windows, doors and the foundation wall)?

Residents and businesses have reported flood incidents to the City of Toronto after extreme storm events. Calls are made during a flood event or afterward, sometimes as part of an insurance claim related to property damage. The City's map is is shown below.

City's map: Toronto Water Basement Flooding Location Map

As shown on the close up of the City's map below, only major roadways and points of reference are available, making it difficult to pinpoint a local area of interest. Unfortunately the City's map is not at a sufficient scale to show local streets with high historical flooding risk.

Close up of City's map (no local streets shown)

May 2000 locations estimated with symbol (!) on City's map

As a further limitation, May 2000 flood report locations are only shown with a symbol (!) as the original City map did not embed Geographic Information System fonts in the exported PDF file. These symbols are off-set from the reported basement flooding location (red dots in the legend).

Our Toronto Flood Map overcomes City map limitations and reveals high risk areas and neighbourhoods that have flooded during recent severe weather events.

Of course there are limitations in interpreting the flood location map:

The City of Toronto is investing heavily in improvements to the sewer system to limit risks so some areas may no longer have the same risk after construction as they had in the past.

Affected property owners may have invested in individual risk reduction measures (back-flow valves, sump pumps, improved lot grading, etc.) to protect their property from further damage.

Not all flooding is reported so virtually any property along any street could experience flooding under certain conditions. For example, any property could experience flooding if the private sewer or drainage systems on the individual properties are not maintained (clogged foundation drains / weeping tiles, lateral service connection blocked with tree roots or other debris), or if there are other risk factors (reverse slope driveway, etc.). This explains some isolated flood locations.

Because the high intensity area of a storm may cover only part of the city, the density of flood locations reflects the relatively higher local rain stress on the drainage system, and not necessarily the local drainage system capacity compared to other parts of the city. Other storms may affect parts of the City in a greater way (e.g., August 19, 2005 affected the north part of the City, while July 8, 2013 affected the west part).

Individual addresses cannot be identified due to the scale of the map and spatial accuracy.

Nonetheless, Toronto Flood Map can still show the relatively higher flood risk streets within a neighbourhood. Currently the map shows flood reports for the August 19, 2005 and May 12, 2000 storms. The May 12, 2000 basement flooding locations on the City's map have been corrected / adjusted so that affected streets can be identified. The July 8, 2013 storm flood report locations, available through other City reports, will be available shortly as will other historical reports reported through local studies.

Can Twitter Accurately Document Flooding Incidents?

Bright Planet has explored whether social media could "help in a flood", especially in the context of reviewing tweet data for insurance claims. Here's what they did in relation to the July 8, 2013 Toronto storm and flood:

"To assist with the vetting and triage of insurance claims, BrightPlanet harvested all tweets within the Greater Toronto Area. BrightPlanet then filtered and curated the tweets down to only tweets discussing specific effects of the flooding. Any tweets containing a latitude and longitude were then mapped in a heat map format in Toronto to show where the most chatter was happening about the flooding."

See the full description on their page here: BrightPlanet. The harvesed image is here:

There are a lot of tweets downtown, mostly south of Bloor Street. Matthew Dance analyzed tweets about Toronto - not about flooding, and produced this cluster map:

Of course the extents are different, but I'd suggest that we see the same pattern in BrightPlanet "flood tweets" as we do for Matthew Dance's "generic Toronto tweets". Dance explains tweet density in a few ways:

"The most densely Tweeted area is bounded by Bloor Street to the North and Lake Ontario to the South, connected by Young Street. There is a greater density along the Lake, away from Young to the West."
Hot spots include the Eaton Center, Rogers Center and tourist and suburban destinations - the areas around Yonge and Bloor and Front Street, including the sports stadiums - "destinations for those interested in shopping or taking in the sights in Toronto."
Areas that are strictly neighbourhoods (Hillsdale Avenue running east from Yonge) have low density.
Poorer neighbourhoods like Regent Park have few tweets (between Dundas and Gerrard west of the Don Valley)

(see the site: Matthew Dance Toronto Tweets)

Where does the City of Toronto report flooding for July 8 2013? It does not match the BrightPlanet flood tweet locations very well as shown below:

Tweet-rich downtown had only 50 mm of rain and limited reported flooding, compared to 130 mm of rain in tweet-poor Etobicoke where most of the flooding was reported. Perhaps the BrightPlanet flood tweets should first be "normalized" by the density of generic non-flood tweets, to give a better representation of relative spatial flood activity?

It would also be worth checking if what people tweet more about downtown is spectacular surface flooding (e.g., a sewer geyser blowing a manhole 10 feet in the air, a Ferrari floating in an underpass lake, an amphibious GO Train) as opposed to basement flooding, which is the focus of City of Toronto flood complaints. Tourist and passersby have time to tweet about flooding, while a homeowner with sewage gurgling up their basement floor drain may have more pressing thing to do (save the family photos honey!).

Basement Flood Protection - Toronto Subsidy Program

City of Toronto notes that basements can flood for many reasons. While the City is working to make improvements to its complex system of underground pipes, sewers and catchbasins, these improvements alone cannot completely protect a home from basement flooding. With the increasingly frequent and severe weather, it is essential that homeowners take the appropriate action to reduce the risk of basement flooding on their own private property. Those who isolate their home from the City's sewer system can significantly reduce the risk of basement flooding.

To assist homeowners, the City offers owners of single-family, duplex and triplex residential homes a financial subsidy of up to $3,200 per property to install flood protection devices including a backwater valve, a sump pump, and pipe severance and capping of the home's storm sewer or external weeping tile connection.

Work that is eligible:
Each property owner is required to have a Plumbing Contractor, licenced by the city of Toronto, carry out a site assessment to determine the suitability of isolating their property from the City's sewer system. Contact Municipal Licensing & Standards at 416-392-6700 to verify that your contractor has the appropriate City of Toronto plumbing licenses. The following items and works are eligible for a subsidy after proper installation:

A: Backwater valve
In consultation with a Plumbing Contractor or Drain Contractor licensed by the City of Toronto, homeowners may determine that a backwater valve on the sanitary sewage and/or stormwater connection could provide sufficient basement flooding protection.
Available subsidy = 80% of the invoiced cost up to a maximum of $1,250 including eligible labour, materials, permit and taxes.

B: Sump pump
In consultation with a Plumber Contractor and/or a Building Renovator with an endorsement for concrete work licensed by the City of Toronto, homeowners may determine that a sump pump is required to manage the water normally collected by footing weeping tiles that drain to the sanitary, storm or combined sewer. Sump pumps need power to operate, so consider installing a back-up power source.
Available subsidy = 80% of the invoiced cost up to a maximum of $1,750 including labour, materials and taxes.

C: Backwater valve + sump pump
Homeowners may determine that both a backwater valve and a sump pump are required (see details in previous section A and B). Available subsidy = 80% of the invoiced cost up to a maximum of $2,800 including eligible labour, materials, permit and taxes.
Backwater valves and sump pumps need to be inspected and maintained to ensure optimal performance.

D: Pipe severance and capping
In consultation with a Plumber Contractor or Drain Contractor licensed by the City of Toronto, homeowners may determine that disconnecting foundation drains (weeping tiles) from the City's sewer system by severing and capping the underground storm sewer connection pipe is also required to protect the home from basement flooding.
Available subsidy = 80% of the invoiced cost up to a maximum of $400 including eligible labour, materials and taxes.
When you are applying for more than one item under the subsidy program, you cannot apply any unused funds from one item to another.

Eligibility requirements and information: The City of Toronto will determine the eligibility of properties that meet the requirements listed below:

The property must be registered as a single-family residential, duplex or triplex property within the City of Toronto.
The subsidy is available only to existing homes, not homes in the planning stages or currently under construction.
The property must have its eavestrough downspouts properly disconnected from the City sewer system, where possible.
A Plumbing Contractor or Drain Contractor currently licensed by the City of Toronto, must be hired to install a backwater valve and/or perform severance and capping.
A Plumber Contractor and/or a Building Renovator currently licensed by the City of Toronto must be hired to install a sump pump.
A building permit and an approved inspection must be obtained for backwater valve installations.
For properties with a parking pad instead of a driveway, all front yard paved areas must comply with the City's Zoning By-law requirements.
All installations must be completed before the applicant applies for the subsidy.
Invoice(s) must show a cost breakdown of all charges, the total amount paid and be clearly marked as "paid in full".
The property owner or authorized legal representative must sign and date the application form.
All documents must be originals. No photocopies will be accepted.
Applications and supporting documentation must be received by the Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program office within one year of the date of completion of the work, as listed on your original invoice(s).
Subsidies for eligible work are subject to available funding and provided on a first-come, first-served basis.
Subsidies are provided one time only for each eligible installation, per property, and on a no-fault basis

Below is a list of Toronto area sewer contractors and plumbers who could assist with backflow valve installation:

DrainCity

North York, Toronto, ON ‎

(416) 749-1800 ‎ · draincity.com

city plumbers · back-water valve · sump pump installation · water supply line · grease trap

Ideal Plumbing & Drain

37 Nipigon Ave, North York, ON M2M 2V7 ‎

(416) 371-7137 ‎ · idealplumbingdrain.ca

backwater valves · sewer

DrainWorks

ON M8Z 3L2 ‎

(416) 233-6699 ‎ · drainworks.com

peace of mind · floor drain · camera inspection · water meter · licensed plumber

"They gave us a very detailed estimate and completed the job in only 2 days - including digging up our basement drains, installing a backflow valve, and ..." - homestars.com

New Canadian Drain & Plumbing Ltd

Toronto, ON ‎

(416) 651-2990 ‎ · newcanadiandrain.com

drainage system · weeping tiles · insulation

"Since they had to dig up a portion of our basement to complete the work, we also had them rough in a bathroom in the basement and install a backflow ..." - homestars.com

Winners Plumbing & Mechanical Services

71 Whitney Pl, Vaughan, ON L4J 6V6 ‎

(416) 906-4600 ‎

DrainCom

Mississauga, ON ‎

(416) 989-5757 ‎ · draincom.com

underpinning · flood · sewer

"The pleasant team of Tadek and Alex installed the sewer valve and replaced two window wells in only 2 days. Covered my floors - and outside concrete ..." - homestars.com

Public Plumbing

300 New Toronto St #14, Toronto, ON M8V 2E8 ‎

(416) 556-5658 ‎ · public-plumbing.ca

"They dug into our floors, and replaced all of the clay pipe with plastic and installed a backflow valve to prevent further problems. The city inspector ..." - homestars.com

Lampert Plumbing Systems Inc

119 Miranda Ave, Toronto, ON M6B 3W6 ‎

(416) 787-4921 ‎ · lampertplumbing.ca

"New fixture and faucet installations with a two year warranty, faucet repair, toilet replacement, and Certified backflow preventer installation and ..." - lampertplumbing.ca

ExpressRooter Plumbing

750 Oakdale Rd, Toronto, ON M3N 2Z4 ‎

(416) 233-2660 ‎ · expressrooter.ca

"Called Express Rooter to have them install our New Bathtub, they dispatched Vlad to our home. Vlad, did excellent work for us, was polite and stayed ..." - homestars.com

DanMac Plumbing & Drain Service Ltd

33 Chauncey Ave, Etobicoke, ON M8Z 2Z2 ‎

(416) 237-9161 ‎ · danmacplumbing.com

"The DanMac plumber installed a cheaper model pop-up that was fused. I would have gone for a more expensive one that could have been removed but I wasn't ..." - homestars.com

Aqua Tech Basement Waterproofing, Plumbing & Drain

3 Leggett Ave, Toronto, ON M8P 1X1 ‎

(416) 300-2191 ‎ · aquaplumbing.ca

"Sewer Camera Inspection; Sump Pump Installation; Grease Traps; Backflow Preventer Installation; Drain Snaking; Water Main Replacement; Sewer Backwater Valves" - aquaplumbing.ca

CAFFREY PLUMBING, BACKFLOW PREVENTION, APPLIANCE INSTALLATIONS

Oakville, ON ‎

(416) 876-3006 ‎ · caffreyplumbing.goldbook.ca

Thornhill Plumber

27 Dalmeny Rd, Thornhill, ON L3T 1L9 ‎

(416) 371-7137 ‎ · idealplumbingdrain.ca

Konkle Plumbing & Heating

5308 Philp Rd, Beamsville, ON L0R 1B2 ‎

(905) 563-4847 ‎ · konkleplumbing.com

AWS Irrigation Management Inc

304 Stone Rd W, Guelph, ON N1G 4V9 ‎

(519) 826-5752 ‎ · awsi.ca

lawn sprinkler system · drip

"Automatic lawn sprinkler systems, drip irrigation, backflow valves and directional drilling is our area of expertise; we install, repair, test, ..." - awsi.ca

Watts Water Technologies (Canada) Inc

5435 North Service Rd, Burlington, ON L7L 5H7 ‎

(905) 332-4090 ‎ · wattscanada.ca

"Introducing the Dead Level™ Presloped Trench Drain System—An innovative drain system designed to reduce installation time & eliminate floating and ..." - wattscanada.ca

Metro Infrared Inspections

10 Nepean Pl, Brampton, ON L6S 5Y8 ‎

(905) 260-9335 ‎ · inspection-service.com

"grease trap installations; sump pump repair & installation; sump pump backflow valve service; water main repair or replacement; lead water main line ..." - toronto-plumber.com

Drain Cleaning Services Toronto Plumbing Drain

125 Parkway Forest Dr, North York, ON M2J 1L9 ‎

(416) 371-7137 ‎ · idealplumbingdrain.ca

Watts

455 Horner, Etobicoke, ON M8W 4W9 ‎

(416) 503-4000 ‎ · wattscanada.ca

"Plumbing Specialties; Pressure Regulators; Relief Valves; Strainers; Tempering Valves; Water Heater Installation Products. Backflow Prevention" - wattscanada.ca

Ideal Plumbing & Drain

125 Parkway Forest Dr, Toronto, ON M2J 1L9 ‎

(416) 371-7137 ‎ · idealplumbingdrain.ca