So far this year there hasn't been a flood of enquiries about the city's free home drainage inspection program. Nor, despite the rainstorms of the past week, have there been any phone calls from residents complaining about moisture in their basements.
Of course, one really hard, freakish rainstorm could change all that, but so far, the two university students hired for the inspection program visit a handful of homes each week.
"In the course of the summer we usually visit about 50 homes. Since 1993 when the program began, 15,000 residences have been checked," said utilities manager Dan Rites.
The $25,000 program, which includes a drainage and sump pump inspection, benefits homeowners by helping them to locate problems in the grading around their home, but ultimately the saving is to the entire city because the inspectors hope to keep excess rainwater runoff out of the sanitary sewage system.
The weeping tile around the house carries the excess runoff water away from the house and into the sanitary system. Drainpipe extensions carry the water away from the house so it can flow into the storm water system instead of the sanitary system. Big rainstorms overload the city's sewage system.
The program is free to the public and includes complimentary drainpipe extensions, when required and in most instances only takes 10 to 20 minutes for an inspection.
Three inspections
This week the Gazette tagged along with summer employees Elizabeth Otto and Josh Meller as they visited three different homes located in Lacombe Park, Forest Lawn and Oakmont. Of the three, only the Lacombe Park home had recently had problems with water in the basement. That homeowner fixed the problem and wanted to be sure his house would be safe.
Otto and Meller circled the entire house and checked the slope towards the foundation.
"The biggest problem with this house is the same as we find in most homes. The front steps are sunken and that's a problem that's hard to fix, but water can seep in next to the house. You can't do much except to fill it by putting clay soil under the steps," Otto said.
The inspectors checked the foundation for cracks and then crouched down to see the lay of the land.
"The water slopes from back to front and that's the way it is with most houses in St. Albert. There should be good drainage now," Meller said.
Flowerbeds OK
The inspectors offered some minor warning for the owners of the Forest Lawn home because the drainpipe extensions had come off and were warped and twisted from use. They offered new drainpipe extensions and even offered to put them on for the homeowner.
"The extensions are flexible so you can take them off in winter or when you mow the lawn," Otto said as she examined the foundation.
"The sidewalk slopes towards the house, but the plants and flowers will likely soak up a lot of water and if the drainpipe extensions carry the water far enough out, it should be OK," she said.
Otto also noticed the soil was higher on one side of the house and suggested it could be moved to fill in a low spot next to the back of the house.
"It would be inexpensive to fix. Just make sure the water slopes away, towards the driveway," she said.
The eavestroughs are the homeowner's responsibility, but Otto also pointed out that caulking could easily repair a persistent drip and once again that could prevent water from puddling near the foundation.
Swampy backyard
The Oakmont resident had the biggest drainage problem: not inside her home, but outside in the yard.
Her condo is at the lower end of a row of duplexes that go all the way up a hill. The homes have a tall retaining wall behind them, an eight food-wide strip of grass that runs like a river from the top of the hill to the bottom, and sunken patios against the houses.
"My sump pump runs a couple of times per day," the homeowner said, as she explained that the pump did its job and kept her house dry.
But the grass behind her house is never dry and anyone standing on it quickly gets wet feet. Some of her neighbours have complained about a sour smell from their grass or perhaps from the wood mulch that's next to every back door.
The homeowner wondered if it might be possible to raise the grass in her own yard to help water run off the grass, but the inspectors advised against it.
"If you raise the grass the danger is it will slope more towards the house," Otto warned.
The inspectors also looked at the sump pump outlet that removes water from inside the house.
"If the sump pump was connected to the drainpipe, it might keep some of the water off of the mulch and grass," Otto said.
For an appointment for an inspector to visit your home or for more information on the city's home drainage improvement program, call public works at 780-459-1557 ext 4153.
