Several Steinbach households are suing the southeastern Manitoba city, alleging the government’s mismanagement of its sewer system caused repeated basement flooding during major rainstorms in 2024 and 2025. The statement of claim, filed Aug. 13 in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench, was brought by 22 plaintiffs that live in the city’s northeast, in the Georgetown, Rams Gate and Stonebridge neighbourhoods. According to the claim, it alleges the city’s sewer system was built as a closed system never meant to handle stormwater and that the city knowingly allowed that to happen for years. The lawsuit says Steinbach has known “since at least September of 2015, or earlier” that residents were illegally discharging rainwater into the sewer system using sump pumps, in violation of a municipal bylaw enacted in 2003. Rather than enforcing the bylaw, the claim alleges, the city relied on an approach it has described as “property owner self-education and self-regulation.” The lawsuit also alleges the city approved a design that routed sewage from a newer subdivision, Clearspring Greens, through the Georgetown neighbourhood’s sewer system rather than an alternate route. It claims this added strain to a system that also served the Steinbach Aquatic Centre and another development, without expanding its capacity. Construction work in 2024 and 2025 compounded the problem, the claim alleges, after manhole covers were removed during excavation, allowing storm water to enter the system directly or erode the ground around the manholes. The statement of claim says the city is also equipped with auxiliary pumps meant to move liquid through the system faster during heavy rain. It alleges the city failed to activate them “in a timely manner” during two major storms — one that dropped roughly 156 millimetres of rain over Sept. 16 and 17, 2024, and another that brought about 135 millimetres over Sept. 11 and 12, 2025. As a result, the claim alleges sewer water backed up into the basements of the plaintiffs’ homes during both storms, damaging personal property and diminishing the value of the homes. “The plaintiffs plead that as a result… they incurred and will continue to incur expenses in order to rectify the contamination to the basements of their homes,” reads the filing. It further alleges they were unable to use parts of their homes following the flooding, along with ongoing mental distress and anxiety over the possibility of further damage during future rainfall. The lawsuit alleges both nuisance and negligence, arguing the city was obligated to maintain and properly operate the sewer system but failed to do so. The claim also points to steps the city has allegedly taken this year, including a new bylaw before council to strengthen enforcement and a tender for construction that would reroute the Clearspring Greens sewage away from the Georgetown system. It characterizes those moves, along with alleged statements from city council members and staff, as “acknowledgments of the allegations” raised in the lawsuit. The filing seeks an unspecified amount in damages, as well as special damages with interest. In a statement to CTV News, a City of Steinbach spokesperson said its insurers and legal team “will respond accordingly” to the filing. The city said it regularly maintains and inspects its public sewer infrastructure and that its review to date has found no evidence the reported damages were caused by negligent maintenance or operation of its infrastructure. The spokesperson said the rainfall during both events was “exceptionally severe,” which can cause backups on private property “despite the system being in good working order.” The city said it applied for Disaster Financial Assistance for both the 2024 and 2025 storms, but both applications were denied. It said it continues to push for retroactive approval of a DFA program for affected residents, and “remains committed to expanding its wastewater infrastructure as the city grows.” None of the allegations have been proven in court, and the City of Steinbach has not yet filed a statement of defence.
