Homeowners on flood-prone Windsor street call for fixes to overburdened storm sewers

Feelings of overwhelming fear and anxiety hit Alicia Hennessey, Amanda Dunfield and Jennifer Moore every time a rainfall warning is issued for their area. 

The women are neighbours and live with their families on Stannus Street in downtown Windsor, N.S. — their homes three in a row. For years they've each dealt with repeated flooding caused by problems with the town's combined sewage and storm water system. 

During heavy rains, brown-coloured water — sometimes tainted with raw sewage — flows like a river in the street, lawns and basements flood, and backed-up water spews out of catch basins in front of their homes because the system can't cope with the flow.

"We're not handling it very well at all," said Dunfield, who's lived in Windsor with her eight-year-old daughter for two years. 

"My child is not handling it well. She'll refuse to go to school on days when it might rain because she feels the need to stay home and keep mom safe, and keep her pet safe, and check her house, and help where she can." 

Dunfield said she was not aware of the extent of the flooding issue when she bought the home, and would consider leaving, but knows it's not marketable anymore. 

"Not many people in this world can afford to walk away," she said. "If I just say, 'well, I'm out of here,' we will be unhoused … if we don't lose everything and end up unhoused in the process." 

The three women each have pumps, hoses, sandbags, drain systems and generators to try to keep the water away from their properties, but it's not enough. They say a complete overhaul of the combined system needs to happen immediately. 

Todd Richard, director of Public Works with the Municipality of West Hants, said in an interview that the systems must be separated — creating one pipe for sanitary sewer, and another for storm water. However, the municipality is waiting on results of a study that's been in the works since 2021. 

They commissioned CBCL Engineering, a consultancy firm in Halifax, to review the town's system and provide recommendations on how to improve it. 

At a public meeting on Monday, where Hennessey, Dunfield and Moore were present, residents were told that the report should be ready in about six weeks. 

Richard also pointed to a "shared responsibility" between the municipality and its residents, highlighting that Winsdor is an old town, and many of these homes were built in low lying areas, some either at, or slightly below sea level. 

"We do take our responsibility very serious for the street water, but there's also that impact on private areas that, you know, are vulnerable to flooding for those reasons," he said. 

He said the municipality works to ensure residents know what they can do to prevent localized flooding. Some examples include, making sure drains are working, sump pumps are hooked up properly and disconnecting rain gutters.