Windsor Flood Update September 11 2017

The City of Windsor continues to recover from the recent flooding event. As of Monday morning, the 311 Call Centre had received 6,008 basement flooding reports both online and over the phone. See attached map of flooding call distribution.

Latest Information: 

Progress is being made but delays in collection of both regular garbage and flood material is to be expected again this week due to volume. City officials ask residents toensure regular garbage follows the regular collection guidelines including containers and weight.

To ensure every effort is focused on garbage and flood materials recycling collection is once again cancelled this week. Residents who have recycling at the curb or were planning to put out as regularly scheduled are asked to take the recycling back in and store it until their next scheduled pick-up in two weeks.  The City apologies for the inconvenience but trusts that residents agree the potentially hazardous flooding materials take precedence over regular recycling or yard waste. Residents do have the option of dropping off recycling at the Central Depot as well.

Residents are also advised that the Bulk Furniture Collection is on hold until further notice due to the flooding event.  Please watch for posted updates.

The city added a second flood material collection site on the weekend, at the former GM Transmission Plant.  It is not for public drop-off but the site is allowing city trucks to unload materials on to a safe cement pad and then return to the streets more quickly, which also frees up the Central Depot for residents.  The site has been approved by the Ministry of Environment.

To date, more than 6000 homes have reported basement flooding.

Ongoing:

The Public Drop-Off Depot at Central Avenue is open and accepting flood damaged materials, such as carpet, padding, dry wall, furniture, and baseboards free of charge.  However, Environmental Services reports that wait times can be significant at times.  The Public Drop-Off is open Monday to Saturday, 8am to 5pm. 

Yard waste collection for the month of September is also cancelled so that all available resources can be diverted to flood clean up. Residents are asked to place flood damaged items to the curb (not the alley) as soon as possible. Cooperation in preparing the flood material will allow us to get to as many homes as possible, as soon as possible. 

Note: Flood damage pickup is for those who do not have a paid contractor working on their properties, as paid contractors are responsible for taking any damaged materials to the landfill.

Curbside Collection Preparation Details:

• Roll carpet and padding in small bundles approximately 4’ in length.
• Bundle, bag or place in pails/boxes any building materials such as pieces of drywall, baseboards.
• Appliances must have doors removed or secured shut so they won’t be opened.
• Collection crews will not pick up loose material. All loose items must be placed at the curb in garbage bags weighing no more than 20 kilograms (44 pounds).  Bags should not be stacked but rather placed side by side. The hard-sided garbage container by-law will be waived for flood collection. 
• Keep household chemical waste, paint cans, and other chemicals in a separate pile.  They will be collected by a separate truck from the truck collecting flood items.
• Place items to be collected in an orderly manner, side by side as much as possible.  Avoid piling items on top of each other.
• Wherever possible, avoid parking vehicles in front of flood material. Collection crews require clear access to items set out for collection.

311’s hours of operation are Monday to Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.  311 can also be accessed online. Details on the Basement Flooding Subsidy Protection Program can also be found on the City website. We thank residents for their co-operation and patience during this time.