Get people and power away from the water, call your insurer and 311 the same day, and get everything wet out or dried within 48 hours. The backwater valve comes after that, and the City will pay most of it.
Wednesday’s storm dropped 118 mm on North York, 133 mm on Vaughan and 106 mm on Scarborough, and Toronto Fire logged close to 1,500 calls in 24 hours (CP24, quoting Chief Jim Jessop). City Manager Paul Johnson called it a 100-year storm. With that many houses hit at once, the order you do things in matters.
Safety first. The City of Toronto’s basement flooding page says to have Toronto Hydro cut the power if water rose above outlets or near the panel, and if it smells like a sewer backup, stop using toilets and sinks until it is sorted out. Gloves, rubber boots, eye protection and an N95 before you go in.
Two calls the same day. Your insurer first. The Insurance Bureau of Canada says sewer backup and overland flood are not part of a standard policy; both are optional add-ons, so find out which you have before you spend anything. Then 311. The City’s flood claims page says a Toronto Water visit is part of any claim investigation and that most claims against the City are denied, so treat 311 as documentation, not compensation. Photograph everything before it goes to the curb and keep every receipt.
Then dry it. Health Canada says a house dried within 48 hours is much less likely to grow mould, and that soaked drywall, insulation, carpet and particleboard furniture that cannot be dried should come out. The City suggests hot water and detergent on hard surfaces, then bleach at one cup per five gallons. The mistake we see every year: two box fans, the drywall stays up, black staining behind the baseboard by October. Cut the drywall a foot above the water line, pull the wet batts, and let the studs dry before anything goes back.
What we’d do once it is dry: a backwater valve on the sanitary lateral, and a sump pump with battery backup if the house has weeping tile. Toronto’s Basement Flooding Protection Subsidy Program pays 80 per cent of the invoice up to $1,600 per backwater valve and $2,250 for a sump pump, $6,650 per property in total (toronto.ca, for work done on or after November 12, 2025). The conditions: a contractor with a City of Toronto plumbing or drain licence, a building permit, and the inspector sees the valve before it is covered. Toronto plumbers’ 2026 pricing guides put a retrofit at roughly $1,800 to $4,800 depending on whether the slab is finished and how deep the lateral sits (Premier Plumbing, Tornado Plumbing). You have two years to apply and payment takes up to 10 weeks.
Post your photos, your street’s rainfall and what your insurer said about sewer backup coverage so neighbours on the same sewer line can compare.
Where did the water come in, up through the floor drain or through the walls, and what year was the house built?
