Back lane flooding keeping cars parked for Winnipeg homeowners

Winnipeg homeowners say the spring thaw is backing up drains and flooding their back lanes, leaving them stranded. CTV's Joseph Bernacki explains.

Residents of a Winnipeg street are fed up, saying a frozen catch basin has caused flooding that has caused damage to their vehicles and has made it hard for them to leave.

Bruce Ault, who lives on Amarynth Crescent, said he and his neighbours are used to seeing their back lane flood, but not like this.

“It’s only going to get worse; if we had more snow this winter, you can only imagine what it would be like,” Ault said on Thursday.

Ault said he hasn’t been able to use his car in a week because of high water collecting above a plugged drain.

“The sun can’t get to the snow to melt it rapidly enough, and it just builds up and builds up and then it becomes Lake Erie,” Ault said.

On Thursday afternoon, a city crew was on site. Ault and his neighbours have no other road exit. The lane ends at Amarynth Crescent Park.

Ault said one of his neighbours waited too long to move her vehicle, and now it is badly damaged.

“One of my neighbours was one of the last ones to get out, and her Dodge Durango lost the front lower part of her bumper, ripped it right off,” he said.

Ault said he phoned 311 over a week ago and was shocked by what he heard.

“(They said) ‘we’ll get to it.’ Uh, when?” he said.

“(They said) ‘Well, it should be clear by April 20’ and I went, ‘No, that’s not acceptable; I can’t get out now.’”

Coun. Janice Lukes (Waverly West), who chairs the city’s public works committee, said call volumes have been high over the past few weeks for back lane flooding. She said it’s to be expected given the freeze-thaw cycle of this time of year.

“This is prime season,” Lukes said.

“We have 18,19 steamers. We hire out commercial steamers also, so it’s a very busy time.”

She said people should report flooding in as much detail as possible so the city can prioritize solutions.

“We prioritize them where it’s closest to the home or the water could get in the home,” Lukes said.

In a statement to CTV News, a spokesperson from the City of Winnipeg said they are aware of the frozen catch basin and are actively attempting to open it.

They said mud or another type of blockage is causing difficulty. The city said crews are returning Thursday evening to attempt again, with a potential need for additional equipment to clear it.

The city said they will continue to be there daily until the issue is resolved.