Nov 5, 2026
Overnight on July 27 to 28, and again between Aug 1 and Aug 3, storms dumped roughly a month’s worth of rain on north Niagara over the span of a few hours. Sanitary sewers in St. Catharines, Lincoln and parts of Niagara-on-the-Lake and Niagara Falls were overwhelmed, causing sewage-tainted water to bubble up through basement drains in thousands of homes. Insured losses alone topped hundreds of millions of dollars, leaving many residents looking for extra relief their policies may not cover.
But the Ontario government has refused to open its main disaster relief program to them for one technical reason: the water came up from the sewer, not from a river or lake.
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That distinction may sound like semantics. For a household budget, it can decide who pays for the cleanup.
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Why won’t Ontario’s disaster program cover Niagara’s sewage floods?
St. Catharines NDP MPP Jennie Stevens has pressured the province to activate its Disaster Recovery Assistance for Ontarians (DRAO). The program pays up to $250,000 to cover emergency expenses, repairs and replacement of essential property in the wake of natural disasters.
On Oct. 27, Municipal Affairs and Housing Minister Rob Flack noted that “DRAO was not activated because it was not overland water,” adding that homeowners with sewer backups need to go through private insurance. On Nov. 2, the Town of Lincoln was told its own request was denied.
The province’s program guidelines support that position, which highlights that sewer backup insurance is widely available and preventive measures like backwater valves exist. A special provision lets low-income households apply for help with sewer backup repairs and have the program’s $500 deductible waived, but it only applies where DRAO has been activated.
Not everyone accepts that line. In a letter to Flack, Stevens noted that a meteorologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada confirmed the storms caused flash flooding. The City of St. Catharines has also said the flooding was the result of the storms, not an infrastructure issue.
Many households also dealt with more than one kind of water. St. Catharines residents experienced both severe sewer backups and widespread overland and surface flooding, Niagara radio station CKTB reported. It’s not yet clear whether Flack’s comments mean those residents will never qualify for the program.
The storms caused an estimated $360 million in insured damage, according to Catastrophe Indices and Quantification Inc, as cited by the Insurance Bureau of Canada (IBC), the national industry association representing private home, car and business insurers. In total, it’s estimated that Canada suffered $3.7 billion in insured losses over summer, the third costliest on record, with the Niagara region accounting for nearly 10% of that sum.
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Does your home insurance actually cover sewer backup?
Not automatically. IBC guidance says basement damage from sewer backup is only covered if you purchased that specific optional coverage, as overland flood protection is a separate add-on.
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Rob de Pruis, IBC’s national director of consumer and industry relations, has warned that a homeowner with sewer backup coverage but no overland coverage may not be covered at all. This is because many backups are triggered by an overland flood event. Limits are also important. One St. Catharines homeowner had a limit of $50,000 that was supposed to cover both clean-up — which was originally priced at $27,000 before being revised down to $20,000 — and restoration — which was quoted at $68,000, $74,000 and $120,000 by three contractors — for his flooded basement.
Even homeowners who have coverage are struggling. Stevens referred to a Northend Neighbours survey of nearly 450 homeowners, which found that more than 60% of respondents said their claims were still in limbo, and only 36.6% had a claim fully approved.
However, some respondents had a much faster experience. They said an adjuster called within days and remediation crews arrived soon after.
What help is available if you’re not covered?
Provincial aid is off the table for now and municipal money is focused on preventing the next flood rather than repairing the last one.
On Aug.26, the City of St. Catharines approved $20 million for its Emergency Flood Alleviation Program (Emergency FLAP). The program reimburses 90% of eligible costs, up to $5,000, for eligible flood preventative devices and related installation work including:
- Mainline backwater valves (normally open)
- Weeping tile disconnection from the sanitary sewer
- Reconnection of weeping tiles to a sump pump system
- Secondary (backup) pumps, including battery‑powered or water‑siphon systems
- Related discharge piping
- The cost of the initial contractor assessment
- The cost of the required Plumbing-Only permit
Your home must be a single- or semi-detached property built before 2012 and within city premises: single-detached homes include duplexes, triplexes and quadplexes. The property must also be connected to the city’s sanitary sewer, with work done by a licensed plumber under permit. You don’t need to have experienced a flood to apply, and rebates arrive in four to six weeks.
What to do now
The province has made clear that sewer backup is a private risk, making it essential to take these steps before the next catastrophic storm:
- Find the words “sewer backup” and “overland water” in your policy, and note the dollar limit for each
- Ask your insurer or broker whether your sewer backup coverage applies when a storm causes the backup
- If you have an open claim, keep photos, receipts and communication with adjusters in writing
- If your claim stalls, use your insurer’s complaint process and ask for a written explanation of any denial
- If you live in St. Catharines, apply for Emergency FLAP to better protect your home from any future flooding
- If you live elsewhere, inquire about any potential backwater valve rebates your municipal government may offer
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Writer and editor based in Toronto with experience in personal finance, insurance, arts and culture and branded content.
