Niagara-on-the-Lake’s summer of 2024 will go down as one of the wettest and wildest in memory.

A pair of extreme storms in June and July created flash floods in areas of greater NOTL, overwhelming sewers, drains, culverts, ditches, storm ponds and streams, causing tremendous damage to homes and properties. 

At the worst end of the spectrum, many residents suffered through backed-up sewage in their homes, creating messy cleanups and dangerous biohazards.

This has prompted serious questions from residents about the effectiveness of NOTL’s municipal drainage infrastructure, heightened concerns over how residential development is contributing to the watershed problem, and curiosity around just how accurate claims that these types of storms are once-in-a-couple-generation events.

The terms 100-year and 500-year storms have been bandied about by experts, politicians and water management officials.

But with the frequency — and intensity — of these storms over the summer and, indeed, the past few years, it raises questions of how responsible and relevant such characterizations are when examining how effective local infrastructure is now and will be into the future.

The story of NOTL’s summer of soak and sewage begins on June 18 with a torrential downpour that dropped up to 45-millimetres of rain in the north central/eastern regions of the community in less than an hour.

Some areas reported even higher levels of rail over the same period.

The rain was so intense that the Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority’s flood warning was directed at all of NOTL.

Then, less than a month later, on July 10, another flash storm ripped through the community. 

Again the conservation authority issued a flood warning, although this one came out proactively, on July 9, one day before the deluge hit.

Residents have shared their experiences with The Lake Report in one-on-one interviews and online via social media with pictures of overwhelmed drain line openings spewing water and debris, flooded intersections, yards, driveways and backed-up toilets.

While much of NOTL was exposed to the repeated heavy rains, concerns are particularly acute in St. Davids and Queenston, located just below the heights of the Niagara Escarpment.

In this first instalment in a series of in-depth, feature-length reports, we look at the experiences of some of those residents.

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Kal and Win Laar: 8 Sheppard Cres., Queenston

The Laars have lived at 8 Sheppard Cres. in Queenston at the immediate base of the Niagara Escarpment since 1975 and have experienced floods in the past but have never seen one like they had had on June 18.

On that date, with a small bucket situated just off their back porch, the couple measured 101 millimetres of rainfall in under an hour.

A retired civil engineer, Kal designed the family home to protect against exterior water flows, including a downward-sloping ditch at the side of the home. 

Later, in 2006, he dug a small storm pond in the backyard for added protection from gravitational water flows that come off the escarpment and fruit farms that surround the property.

“Since we are at the base of the escarpment there is massive amounts of water coming down the hill, and the farm next door drains across our back and across our front. So we are a little island here,” said Win Laar.

“Kal knows how to deal with water,” she added.

Their past flooding problems happened mainly around the time they moved into their home, but there have been a few more over the years as well.

During this summer’s massive rainfall, the water was no match for Kal’s expertise. He has begun to doubt the generational storm mantra.

“The first year we were here in ’75 the earth was bare and overflowed,” he said. 

“The developer told us it was a 100-year storm, which sounded plausible the first time,” he added.

“After the sixth time it didn’t sound very plausible any more.”

In a written statement to The Lake Report prior to an in-person interview, Win explained what they went through on June 18 of this year.

“A single culvert at the front of our property drains water from the hill of the escarpment itself, plus our two acres of land, plus the neighbouring 10-acre farm,” she said.

“Water goes from behind our home and in front of our home but it all goes, or is supposed to go, through a single inadequate culvert,” she continued, adding later that the culvert pipe is only 15 inches in diameter.

“On June 18, the culvert was completely overwhelmed. I stood on Sheppard Crescent filming water as it poured over our lawn and down the road, carrying various vegetative debris,” she said. 

“My boots are 13 inches high and the water on the road was just one to three inches short of the top of my boots. Some of that flood crossed York Road and went into the garage of the home just below.”

The Laars want municipal officials to recognize that this summer’s storms, separated by just a few weeks, are not happening only once in every 100 to 500 years and add that they need to do something about the in-ground infrastructure, which they believe, has obviously outgrown its life expectancy. 

“The 100-year storm is overused as an excuse,” said Kal. “The idea that it is prohibitive to design for something that only happens once in 100 years lets them off the hook, but is that justified? I think not.”

His wife is calling for a complete examination and replacement of infrastructure in their neighbourhood.

“A lot of this infrastructure is not designed for that (kind of storm and frequency),” she said.

“Look at that flow,” she added as she again viewed the video of her standing amid the floodwaters.

“There is no way a 15-inch pipe is adequate to take that.”

Jim Cole: 1157 Line 7 Rd., St. Davids

On June 18, Jim Cole’s property at the eastern end of Line 7 “flooded like an Olympic pool” and he believes the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake should be responsible to prevent it from happening again because of poor maintenance and planning of the drainage system on the road.

His reasoning is simple: the ditches in front of his house cannot accommodate the massive amount of water they received on that day nor have they been designed properly to distribute water to the nearby drainage points.

“If you look west, you can see the road terrain rises up,” he said as he walked the length of his driveway toward the road to view the ditch.

“Well, the water can’t climb the hill,” he added.

Without that ability, the water that is trying to escape his yard is unable to do so because the ditch is full. 

Compounding the issue is the collection of debris that ends up clogging the culvert at the end of his driveway. 

What was seen in the aftermath of the storm was a knee-deep pool of water to the side of his property. The piece of land is almost 150 metres wide by 400 metres long.

In the back of his property, his wife’s garden has been destroyed and while he feels lucky that he didn’t get a lot of water in the house, he “did have some water get in,” he said.

Cole would like to see maintenance crews from the town clean out the ditches in the area and dig them deeper so they slope downward to the municipal drainage lines that lie to the west and east of his home.

Contributing to his frustration, he said, is a scary response from town officials that a nearby neighbour received. 

His own calls to the town, he added, have not been returned.

“They told my friends on Line 6 the reason they are not (clearing the ditches) is because it costs them money to get rid of the toxic soil,” he said.

“Now, that begs the question, what toxic soil? Is it just an excuse for them not to do it, or are we living in a chemical dump? It makes you wonder.” 

However, when contacted by The Lake Report, NOTL communications co-ordinator Marah Minor stated in a written response that she spoke to town staff and “there are no known toxins in the soil on Line 7 Road” that prevent staff from cleaning the ditch.

Hearing that, Cole is left to wonder why no town crews have shown up to take care of the problem.

“If there is nothing there, then let’s get the Gradall (excavator) out and get to work,” he said. “The town should, in good faith, get the machine going and clear out the ditches.”

But it’s not just ditches that Cole believes are causing his water problems. He thinks it could also be attributed to a new vineyard planted five years ago by his next-door neighbour.

“Most of the land is being used for vineyards and I think water is running off the vineyards so fast because they want to get the water away from the vineyards with the under drainage,” he said.

“And I think it is running into the lowest points it can find — and now we have an issue with this. I never had a flood here until the neighbours put in a vineyard,” he said, adding he has been living in the home for 25 years.

Despite all this, Cole said the town is still responsible for drainage on land it owns.

“I’m thinking land-use has contributed to the problem but if they can’t get rid of the water, now it is a town problem because if you look at the ditches, the water is not going anywhere.”

Mike Allen: York Road and Sheppard Crescent, Queenston

Mike Allen believes his flooding issues are directly related to the construction of three massive homes near his house at 2006 York Rd. in Queenston.

He’s resided there since 1982 and had some water problems in the past, “but not like this,” he said.

“Since January of this year we have been experiencing lots of flooding, mostly caused by the construction at 2001, 2003 and 2005 York Rd.,” he said. 

Prior to the new construction, the lot had one dwelling on it. 

“The new owners cut down dozens of old-growth trees and have levelled the entire property and are building three extremely large houses and there is no green space,” he said.

“The problem is that water is pouring off these properties onto the road and into the ditch. This water then travels to the other side of the road where it fills our drain up with dirt and gravel from the construction site.”

“I’ve had to have our ditch cleaned out three times now and at much personal expense,” he said. 

“To add to the problem, these houses are built right on top of and beside a water table below the escarpment.”

Allen questions whether the approved plans were followed and whether the stockpiled dirt on-site is placed there with inadequate silt fencing and drains. 

In an Aug. 20 interview, Allen said he has begun discussions with the town, region and the Niagara Escarpment Commission about the situation.

“Conversations are happening,” he said. “So, there is a little bit of hope there on the horizon. Thank god.”

Art Powis: 963 Line 9 Rd., St. Davids

The damage done to Art Powis’ house on a residential street in St. Davids represents a homeowner’s worst fears.

Rising from bed at around 9 a.m. on June 18, he started the day with the ominous sound of running water in the finished basement of the five-year-old home he purchased in 2020.

“And it wasn’t just a trickle,” he said. “It was rushing water. I thought, ‘Geez, what is going on down there? Is there a pipe burst or what the hell?’ “

Dismayed and not wanting to face a bad situation first thing in the morning, he decided to make a coffee and prepare himself before heading down to see what was happening.

“On second thought, I said to myself: ‘Ah well, I had better go down there and see what is going on.’ ”

Heading to the basement, he didn’t get much farther than to the bottom of the stairs before he was stopped in his tracks.

“There is a bathroom down there and the sewage was backing up furiously through the toilet. A column of crap and whatever else is in there was so high from the toilet seat and over the sides of the toilet.”

With the incredible rainfall that St. Davids had experienced that morning, Powis said it was easy to guess what had caused his sewage back up.

“It is on record how much fell and what time it stopped and when it started,” he said. 

“And it was a beauty. One of the bigger ones for sure. So, that would kind of lead people to wonder if they weren’t related because crazy rainfall stops and sewage backup starts.”

He tried to stop the flow himself with a broom handle and stuffing towels down the toilet while walking around barefoot amid in the sewage.

“Which wasn’t a very smart thing to do, but I got the toilet to stop but then the drain in the shower overflowed and the bathtub. Finally, I decided I am not going to be able to stop this.”

That’s when he got on the phone trying to reach someone with the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake and the Niagara Region to give him some answers about how this could happen.

He said he first called the town and was forwarded to an answering service.

He then reached out to the regional wastewater plant and spoke to a person who told him the region’s responsibility is the pumping stations and the sewage disposal plant, not the infrastructure.

“I said, ‘Well I phoned the (town) and left a message but nobody has called me back.’ ”

“ ‘Ah, you gotta call another guy,’ he said. He was helpful but he still wouldn’t admit that there was a problem.”

To date, Powis said he has not heard back from town officials.

“I think the (problem) is in the lazy no-good SOBs that work for the (town),” he said.

• Next: In Part 2 for the Sept. 5 edition, more flooding victims from across NOTL share more stories — in their own words.