Cambridge mother blames GRCA for flood that destroyed her belongings

Cambridge family flees flooding in canoe A Cambridge woman says she lost her home and belongings in a flood. Heather Senoran has her story.

A Cambridge woman, who lost her home and all of her belongings in a flood, puts some of the blame on the Grand River Conservation Authority.

Rayna Podwinski had been renting the Clyde Road property for seven years. In all that time, she said she’s never witnessed flooding like she did last week, despite living next to a creek.

Podwinski was in her home at the time, while her 5-year-old and 2-year-old were playing on the deck.

Suddenly, she heard a frantic knock at the door from a neighbour warning her about the rising water.

While it was sunny at the time, there had been significant rainfall the day before.

The water came in quickly and she said it was about four feet high in a matter of minutes.

“I knew there was a potential of getting electrocuted if I didn't escape the home,” Podwinski told CTV News.

She had to act fast for the sake of her two small kids.

“I ran through the backyard to grab my canoe and I flipped it over. Then dragged it up onto the deck and loaded my kids with their life jackets, just with the clothes that we had on our back,” she said, in tears.

Podwinski lost her home and everything she owned.

“All of our belongings are now garbage. I'd say hundreds, hundreds of thousands of dollars,” she estimated.

The family didn’t, however, lose what matters most.

“I'm just really grateful that my kids didn't get taken away with the current because of how fast the water came in.”

GRCA responds

Podwinski said employees of the Grand River Conservation Authority (GRCA) visited her home later that same day.

“They had told us that somebody was left in charge of the flood gates, at Shade's Mills, and opened them to 100 per cent capacity rather than incrementally letting the water just come and completely submerge,” Podwinski claimed.

She believes the GRCA is to blame for what happened to her home.

“They went around and they took some pictures and they apologized to my partner, but they mishandled it. I guess they had a new person on unsupervised,” she alleged.

The GRCA told CTV News that Mill Creek received a record amount of rainfall and inflows last week, which required use of the Shade’s Mills dam, near Podwinski’s home.

“Operation of the dam followed the GRCA’s approved reservoir operation policies,” said Lisa Stocco, the GRCA’s manager of planning and regulation services.

CTV News asked if someone from the water management agency visited the home, or if they’d like to comment on the specific allegations made by Podwinski.

“The GRCA will not be making any further comment to the media on this matter,” Stocco said.

What’s next for the family

Podwinski’s family is staying at her in-law’s place for now, which is about an hour away.

Her mother, who lives next door, also had water damage in her basement and shed.

Rose said she misses having her grandkids nearby and also feels the GRCA is to blame.

“They should have let us know, at least on the phones or some kind of alert, to say ‘hey, you know, we're going to open the floodgates and you might want to get your kids out of there,’” she explained.

The day before the incident at Podwinski’s home, flooding was reported across southern Ontario.

At the time, the GRCA warned residents to stay away from local waterways as levels were still high and could change without warning.

The City of Cambridge told CV News they’re concerned about the displaced family but the situation is out of their hands.

Podwinski said their insurer can’t help either.

“All of our insurance companies, including my landlord, said that because it's an outside water source there's nothing we could do.”

A friend of the family has started a GoFundMe campaign and hopes the community will come together to help them get back on their feet.