I’m hearing from a lot of residents who want answers about why flooding happened, and how we can prevent it from happening again. I certainly want those answers as well.
There won’t be a simple fix. 25 neighbourhoods have been dramatically affected and each had their own particular contexts. The City needs to examine the different local factors that may have contributed to flooding.
I brought a motion to last week’s City Council meeting listing many of our local concerns. It includes questions about the maintenance of aging infrastructure, large-scale construction projects, and more paving and infill, but you can read the full motion (and some other work I did at Council) below. I want to know when the City releases its neighbourhood-by-neighbourhood analysis, these factors are also considered and recommendations made that reflect those local circumstances.
Without a doubt, regardless of the circumstance, the amount of rainfall in a very short period will be a significant cause of the damage. This was the single worst rainfall in the history of our region. We’re seeing more extreme weather, as climate scientists told us we would. Climate change is real and we’re feeling its effects.
Our systems for dealing with regular rainstorms fell short of being able to deal with the overwhelming amount of water that fell. Those systems are largely planned for “worst case” scenarios, but no one imagined a worst case that could be as bad as what hit us on July 1.
The General Manager assured us at Council that they are recalibrating their baseline of what is typical and will make recommendations based on that new interpretation.
It will take some months to evaluate what happened in each neighbourhood, but I promise you that the investigation is already underway.
There are many short-term solutions like cleaning out culverts, better maintaining creek flow, and rehabilitating our existing ditch systems. There will likely be localized infrastructure improvements recommended as well, that will take a longer time, and more money, to get done. Improving our systems will be an engineering challenge, but also a political one, as we seek provincial and federal funding to help pay for better protections for our homes, businesses, and facilities.
I will continue to monitor staff’s investigations and to report their findings to you over the coming months. And I will fight for the resources we need to protect our homes from another disaster of this proportion.
Motion: Detailed review of storm impact and mitigation efforts
Motion: Compassionate Grant and protective plumbing programs
Today, I seconded a motion by Mayor Sutcliffe to provide residents who are rebuilding after the July 1, 2026 flooding with relief from fees associated with construction.
WHEREAS the extreme weather events of July 1, August 10 and August 12, 2026,
caused significant disruption, property damage, and financial hardship for
residents across the city, impacting more than 6,500 properties; and
WHEREAS the City’s Revenue Services team has implemented temporary
administrative measures to support affected residents, including the suspension
of collection activities, a pause on interest accumulation and related late fees,
enhanced customer service accommodations, and account-level notifications for
impacted properties; and
Today, I tabled an Inquiry to ask for details about Inlet Control Devices, why they were installed in west end catch basins, how they're maintained, and whether they may have contributed to the July 1 flooding.
Inquiry:
Following the July 1, 2026 flooding of thousands of west end Ottawa homes,
businesses, and public facilities, and again after the flooding on August 10, 2026,
many residents noted that stormwater drainage through municipal catch basins
was inhibited by Inlet Control Devices (ICDs) which had been installed by the
City.
Several also noted that the ICDs were plugged with dirt and debris, completely
blocking the catch basin from draining storm water.
The apparent result of the ICDs, whether blocked or not, was to cause overland
flooding that entered homes.
Today, I moved a motion, seconded by Mayor Sutcliffe, to consult with weather experts to determine how College Ward and environs are being impacted by extreme weather so we can plan to improve our infrastructure and maintenance routines.
WHEREAS over the past several years, Nepean has suffered several extreme
weather events including the 2018 tornados; 2022 derecho; the 2023 ice storm;
the July 1, 2026 rainstorm and floods; and the August 12, 2026 windstorm; and
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa’s Climate Projections for the National Capital
Region (2020) indicate that Ottawa is projected to see rising temperatures, more
rainfall and more extreme weather events; and
WHEREAS recent and historical weather patterns suggest that the affected areas
of Nepean may experience localized weather and climatic conditions that differ
from other parts of the city;
WHEREAS the City of Ottawa uses climate and weather reports when designing
its infrastructure standards, infrastructure maintenance routines and resident
support programs; and