Dollard-Des Ormeaux floods bring back bad memories for residents

Four homes on Maple Street in Dollard-Des Ormeaux are being cleaned up after flooding Sunday night.

Families say it’s bringing back bad memories of last August, when heavy rains caused costly damage to many, including one woman who spoke to CTV News on condition of anonymity.

“We ended up losing two construction containers worth of our things,” she said Monday. “Thirty years of our lives, a family of five. We just finished rebuilding from those floods.”

She adds that water started pooling in her backyard around 6:15 p.m. Sunday, then streamed towards the front of the house.

It seeped through basement windows, flooding the lower level.

“It’s impacting our lives. We’re just starting to stand back up and this is pushing us back down.”

Another woman on Maple Street invited CTV News journalists inside her home, saying her valve prevented major damage. But, she’s still considering filing a complaint against the city of Dollard-Des Ormeaux.

A spokesperson for the city said the flooding started with the catch basins of a private cemetery behind the homes.

She added that even though it’s a private matter, the city is helping to pump out the water and minimize impact.

Daniel Graur says the situation is frustrating — his basement is newly renovated.

“There wasn’t a lot of water this time, but last time there was a lot,” he said. “We ripped out the walls, took out the floors.”

With flood risks on the rise, these residents say they want long-term solutions from both private and public institutions to better protect their homes.