Nepean keeps bearing the brunt of extreme weather as fourth storm in six years floods homes

Nepean neighbourhoods hit hardest by July 1's massive rainstorm are demanding infrastructure upgrades, marking the fourth major weather disaster in six years to strike the same areas.

The storm flooded thousands of homes and left many without power. City staff identified Knoxdale-Merivale, College, and Bay wards as the most heavily impacted. Three years ago, a 77-millimetre rainstorm flooded many of the same streets and homes. Four years ago, a derecho windstorm damaged thousands of houses. Six years ago, a tornado ripped through the area.

Cole Fraser Jones, a Tanglewood resident running for council in Knoxdale-Merivale ward, witnessed water exceeding five feet deep in Woodroffe Avenue underpasses during the July 1 storm. "You don't want to deal with it until it becomes a real problem, and, unfortunately, we're at the point where it's become a real problem," he said.

Jennifer Drake, an associate professor in civil and environmental engineering at Carleton University, explained that many older Ottawa neighbourhoods contain stormwater infrastructure predating modern drainage design. "Any development built before the 1980s has legacy issues where engineers hadn't thought about where water would go in extreme weather," said Drake, who holds the Canada research chair of stormwater and low-impact development. When rainfall exceeds the volumes the aging system is designed to handle, water backs up into streets and basements.

Resident Brittany Lauzon expressed frustration at the pattern: "Why are other parts of the city faring so well, but our part just gets hit over and over? I think it's just a lack of oversight from the city as they are developing our area more and more." Infrastructure investments in these wards are long overdue, residents say.