Thankfully, up until this point, the more suburban and rural surrounding areas of Montreal have not been affected by flooding this year. As you likely remember, in years past, major snowfall combined with quickly rising temperatures has led to extreme loss and devastation for many families across the island.
The borough of Pierrefonds-Roxboro, which has been gravely impacted by flooding in the past, has made repeated pleads with the city of Montreal to allocate funds towards damages potentially caused by flooding in future years, but the response has been non-existent.
“Just because there is no flooding this year doesn’t mean it will never happen again. The administration has two choices: either she invests to protect residents or pays to repair the damage. The math is simple and it’s much cheaper to buy equipment than to pay the material and human cost of hundreds of flooded homes,” said Dimitrios (Jim) Beis, Mayor of Pierrefonds-Roxboro.
Since 2018, the borough has spent half a million dollars on flood prevention measures including pumps and burlap sacs. The heavy price tag has not gone to waste, as the preventative measures have proven to be rather effective in reducing the number of affected homes and businesses.
That said, although the nearly 900 homes that flooded in 2017 decreased to 50 in 2019, Mayor Beis emphasizes that even one home flooded is too many.
“The reality is that it is too late when the City of Montreal declares a state of emergency… The damage is done! If the annual budget issue is resolved, we will be able to manage floods with the expertise we have developed. Spring flooding is not only Pierrefonds-Roxboro’s problem, it is the problem of all the boroughs along the river.”
- Dimitrios (Jim) Beis
