The City of Ottawa is calling on the Ontario government to expand its Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians (DRAO) program in the city after the July 1 rainstorm that dumped more than 100 millimetres of rain on the city and flooded thousands of basements. Mayor Mark Sutcliffe and other city staff provided an update on the flood recovery efforts at a news conference on Friday afternoon, more than three weeks since the storm hit. “We know this recovery is far from over,” Sutcliffe said. “We know many families still have a long road ahead. The City of Ottawa will continue doing everything we can to support residents to advocate on your behalf and to help your community recover, no matter how long it takes.” During last week’s city council meeting, city staff said it took days to understand the full scope of the disaster because it primarily affected private basements. Ottawa Paramedic Service Chief Pierre Poirier said Friday the City of Ottawa has received more than 7,800 storm-related service requests since July 1, including 6,600 reports of flooded basements. More than 3,800 tonnes of flood-damaged debris have been taken to the landfill, and city staff and partners have conducted more than 7,000 wellness visits in flood-stricken neighbourhoods. Since the storm, the city has called in disaster relief agencies like the Canadian Red Cross and Samaritan’s Purse, has held numerous information sessions to help affected residents, and is offering breaks on 2026 property taxes. Habitat for Humanity Greater Ottawa and Matthew House Ottawa are working with the city to help some residents replace flood-damaged furniture. The city also waived building and demolition permit fees for affected residents and expanded the Compassionate Grant program, which provides $1,000 to residents affected by sewer overflow damage. Director of Infrastructure and Water Services Carina Duclos said the city has received 1,679 applications for the Compassionate Grant program and has so far approved 824 of them. Infrastructure review will take time Duclos said city staff are working on determining where stormwater infrastructure failed and where it can be improved, but it will take time. “Since the weather event, city staff has been conducting inspections of stormwater infrastructure in the affected areas and are making significant progress. Our crews are assessing key assets, documenting impacts, and addressing operational issues were required. Staff are conducting inspections and technical analyses to support both immediate operational actions and long-term review,” said Duclos. “This work helps us identify maintenance and operational needs and will contribute to determining opportunities to enhance resiliency. Gathering this data is critical to support the city’s comprehensive review and future recommendations. This will take some time. Over the coming months, we will continue reviewing rainfall data, service requests, infrastructure performance, drainage systems, maintenance records, watershed conditions, and community impacts across the city.” Duclos said the review would include neighbourhood-specific factors to better understand how the storm unfolded and where opportunities to improvement exist. Staff previously said the city’s drinking water system, wastewater treatment plant, pump stations and emergency response systems “continued to function and provide core services” on July 1, but the “extraordinary volume and intensity of rainfall” exceeded capacity. First DRAO map based on early info The Ontario government announced that residents near Graham Creek and Stillwater Creek can apply for the Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians (DRAO) program, though some of the hardest hit areas were not included in the initial activation. City councillors and provincial politicians have called for expanded eligibility, and a provincial official said last week that the government is working with the City of Ottawa to identify other possible areas impacted by overland flooding where residents could be eligible to apply for the program. Poirier said the city has requested an expansion of the DRAO activation boundaries and has provided additional information to the province to support the request. “The first map that was provided to the province was fairly restrictive, and was a point at which we didn’t understand the full scope of the event,” Poirier told reporters. “And when we looked at the 6,600 residents who had a were impacted by the flood, we recognized that it extended well beyond the original area that was activated, so we revisited that.” Sutcliffe, however, urged residents to temper their expectations when it comes to DRAO. “I think we you know we need to underscore to residents that when DRAO has been applied in the past, the payouts have not been large,” he said. “I’ve been advocating for change. I’ve been advocating that, given that these events are going to happen more often in the future, we need a provincial program that will support all residents affected by a major weather event without making distinctions based on how they were affected, which way the water came into their homes.” Conrad Sauvé, president and CEO of the Canadian Red Cross, said more than 150 Red Cross staff have been mobilized and the organization is reaching out to more than 5,700 households. He also said more than 300 homes reached out directly for more specific support. “We know that recovery is often longer and more complex than anticipated. Unfortunately, disasters are on the rise in Canada and becoming more frequent and more complex. We need to ensure the focus remains on those who are impacted,” Sauvé said.
