Beaches residents say detention tanks add to flooding woes but City staff disagree

Every time a major rainstorm is forecasted to hit Toronto, Beaches resident Steven Roberts starts making phone calls.

“I call the central water plant to get them to turn the pumps on,” Roberts said.

Those pumps, he argues, drain water out of large underground detention tanks located under a field in Kew Beach — steps away from Roberts’ front porch — which collect stormwater.

“They’re located below lake level. If the pumps aren’t turned on, they overflow,” Roberts said.

During last month’s historic rainfall, Roberts said his call was not answered.

“And once again homes here were flooded,” he said.

Several homes located just north of Kew Beach experienced flooding during the rainstorm on Sept. 2. For Roberts, who has lived here for 27 years, it’s the 11^th time it’s happened.

“We believe this keeps happening because the whole tank system is being overrun with so much stormwater,” he said. “Manually they keep turning off the float switch for their pump because otherwise it will just pump continuously. You have to proactively go and turn that pump on to make sure that it’s draining and they did not do that.”

However, City staff say the claim is unfounded.

“The Eastern Beaches detention tanks are fully automated and do not require manual operation by City staff,” a spokesperson said.

But Roberts, along with several of his neighbours, are convinced the tank system often overflows, increasing their flood risk.

“If they addressed this, it would minimize street flooding,” Roberts said.

They say for years they’ve been asking city staff to meet with them to address their concerns.

“We see how these tanks work firsthand,” said Beaches resident Joanne DiCaire. “When they release the tanks, when they start pumping the water, the street drains in minutes. You can see it funnel.”

But City staff added the tank system was working properly and as designed the day of the storm and say the cause of flooding was simply due to the amount of rain experienced, not because of any issues with the tanks.

“Kew Beach received approximately 60 mm of rain during the September 2 storm. The area experienced what is called ‘overland flooding,’ which occurs when rainfall falls faster than the ground and drainage system can absorb it.”

Residents acknowledge the tanks aren’t the only reason they see flooding. As CityNews has reported, the City is also dealing with an aging infrastructure struggling to handle stormwater from major rainstorms.

“The city keeps putting in buildings but you’ve got to get rid of the water, you got to fix the sewage system. That also needs to be done,” Roberts said.

It is something City staff say they’re working on. A study is underway to determine how to mitigate flood risks in this neighborhood with results expected to be released sometime next year.

Residents — still convinced the tanks add to their flooding woes — say there have already been studies done in the past.

“They keep telling us they’re working on a fix, we keep saying address the tanks.” Roberts said.

Roberts, along with several of his neighbours, have been posting signs and plan to create a website to draw attention to their cause with an open call to meet with City staff to discuss their concerns. 

“It really is three decades of neglect and inaction, and we just want them to pay attention to things that they could help us do in the short term to relieve some of that burden,” said Beaches resident Gale Moutrey.

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