Montreal residents speaking out against repeated sewage flooding in their homes

Residents in the Town of Mount Royal in Montreal say their homes have been flooded multiple times and are concerned that their municipality isn’t doing enough to help solve the problem.

Among those residents is Alessandra Pasteris. Earlier in July, her basement filled up with sludge and sewage water for the fourth time in three years, causing over $80,000 in damage.

“It looked like there was a river down here. And it wasn’t clear water, it was sludge, it was sewage. So not only was it dirty, it smelled. And so we had to get everything torn down because it was dirty water, it was level three contamination,” said Pasteris.

The Town of Mount Royal highlights a major issue is that wastewater from the Côte-des-Neiges and Outremont boroughs flow into the Mount Royal’s network.

“All this water then flows into the City of Montreal’s sewer system, which is the neck of the funnel,” said the Town of Mount Royal in a statement to CityNews.

According to officials, work is being done to assess the hydraulic capacities of the network in Mount Royal.

“There’s more to be done. I know that they commissioned a study. They mentioned that they would make the results of the study public. And residents of the town keep demanding at meetings to see what is on study because the results are available. But they refuse,” added Pasteris.

“We are expecting the same approach from Montreal,” read a statement from the Town of Mount Royal.

“We keep maintaining the network as it should be to keep it in good condition, and our experts confirm that the torrential rains of July as all other torrential rains, have the effect of sweeping or cleaning very effectively the sewer network.”

During a City Council meeting on July 16, Town Mont-Royal mayor Peter J. Malouf did not provide any schedule for upcoming work.  

In a written statement, the Town says residents will receive “an updated and detailed explanatory leaflet outlining preventive measures, as well as an informative section on what to look for check valves to ensure they are working properly.”

Until the situation can be fixed, the Town of Mount Royal is asking residents to “ensure that they take the necessary measures to protect their homes: this essentially means getting help from a certified plumber who will assist them for the annual inspection and as well as conducting regular maintenance of check valves and other protective plumbing components.”

“I’ve done my part. I’ve redone all of the plumbing. I’ve had an engineer come in to inspect it. I’ve had master plumbers in to see if there’s anything else that we can do to prevent water. And on our end, there’s nothing. So right now, I think it’s time for the town to take responsibility for their part,” said Pasteris.