This was 28th Street after a recent heavy rain. Water backed up into the basement of several homes on the street. (submitted photo/Jeff Feigel)

By Susan McNeil

Frustration reigns following storm

Son frustrated with city response over elderly mother’s flooded house

Jun 7, 2023 | 5:00 PM

When Jeff Feigel got a call from his 84-year-old mother last week, saying there was water in her basement, he headed from Regina to Prince Albert as quickly as possible.

Her home, on 5^th Avenue and 27^th Street, had water covering the basement floor, a gift from nature’s torrential downpour on Thursday but also caused by a nearby city street project, Feigel said.

“They had great big, huge holes where I’m going to assume the storm sewers or the sewer mains with the covers were,” he explained, “but whatever happened Thursday, all that rainwater doesn’t go down the storm sewer and so it backs up and it goes into the sanitary sewer – which everybody’s house is connected to.”

He spent Saturday cleaning, drying and de-humidifying the basement and was about to go back to Regina when it rained on Sunday.

Feigel had in fact just gotten off the phone with an insurance adjuster in Manitoba and was trying to get some information from the city on what it would be doing to address the problem.

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He went outside to see a waterfall running into the same hole, went back inside and found the basement floor covered in water again.

“I could understand it happening the first time, but it happening the second time and them not being prepared,” he said.

At the very least, he thinks a temporary plug could have been put into pipe to prevent a second incident.

“I don’t know why you can’t plug that thing. You can plug pipeline. I don’t know why they couldn’t plug an open sewer line,” Feigel said.

Even more frustrating for him is what he says is a lack of communication from city staff. He spoke to one person in public works and wanted more answers from a higher position of authority, which he was still waiting for on June 7.

paNOW spoke to Jeff Da Silva, the acting director of public works who said some problems have been reported in that area.

“We are aware of some some sewer backup issues right now we are still working on identifying sort of the full breadth of the issue,” he said.

The work on the pipes was set to be completed yesterday but the paving will take longer.

Backflow preventers/check valves have been part of city development requirements on home for several decades, but older homes do not have the protection built in.

Homeowners can add them but are then required to maintain them.

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com