Municipal support is being made available to Sarnia homeowners who battle flooded basements during heavy rainfalls.
City council recently passed a recommendation to implement a basement flooding mitigation subsidy program.
It will help support the cost of flooding prevention measures taken by homeowners, such as installing a backwater valve, sump pump or disconnecting foundation drains.
Director of Engineering David Jackson said during large rain events, the city's sanitary and combined sewer system can surcharge, backing up into basements.
He said over the years a lot of improvements have been made, but more work is needed.
"We're working on that over the years but it's going to take many, many years to solve those problems," said Jackson. "So this is a relatively low cost option that can provide support to people in the interim. And also, there are many very complicated connections that will never be solved. There's always a risk to basement flooding, every city has that and every house has a potential risk, so this just helps mitigate that at a relatively low cost."
It's estimated the subsidy program may require $300,000 in its first year, and that it could potentially be maintained by $50,000 in subsequent years.