ICLR launches new website on basement flooding

The Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction (ICLR), a centre for multi-disciplinary disaster prevention research and communications, has launched a new website to help reduce the chances of experiencing basement flooding and other types of water damage.

In addition, the website, www.basementfloodreduction.com, provides some background information and descriptions of municipal sewer and stormwater management issues that have led to basement flooding problems.

“It is our hope that this website will provide useful guidance to municipal governments, insurance companies and homeowners who would like to reduce the chances of experiencing basement flooding, and other forms of water damage,” ICLR says in a statement.

The website leverages the work found in ICLR’s Handbook for reducing basement flooding and includes a quick quiz that homeowners can take to measure their level of risk. Both the complete handbook and a smaller, more readable Protect your home from basement flooding booklet are available on the website as a download in both official languages.

Also available on the site is a list of those municipalities and cities in Canada that offer subsidies for the installation of sump pumps, backwater valves and other flood reduction measures.