Constance Bay homes deemed uninhabitable 2 months after flooding

More than two months after floodwaters hit the west Ottawa neighbourhood of Constance Bay, some residents there are still being forced out of their homes due to the damage. 

Kara Shaw Plourde, whose Baillie Avenue house is still being flooded by underground water, was told on Thursday that she would need to leave the home immediately.

It was deemed uninhabitable by inspectors and will shortly be torn down.

"On May 4, water started entering the basement and it just didn't stop," said Shaw Plourde. "As you can see, I'm still pumping 18 gallons a minute from my basement."

In addition to keeping an eye on the sump pump, Shaw Plourde spent Saturday afternoon packing up her belongings with her children, Kiersten, 9, and Kaylee, 8, to move to a rental home.

Shaw Plourde says the cost of inspections and repairs—not to mention the additional rental home expenses—are starting to add up.

"I'm going to have to make it work. I don't know yet how I'm going to make it work, because my focus is to get out of this house so my children are safe. But I'm going to make it work."

The headaches continued for Shaw Plourde on Monday when a windstorm knocked a tree over, which landed on the windshield of her car. She thinks it is connected to the high underground water levels, but says it would cost her even more money to find out for sure. 

Unfortunately, Shaw Plourde's case is not unique. 

There are three other homes in the Constance Bay area that were recently scheduled for demolition.

"We're now two months after the flood, and we're having families still with issues, and still now at the point, where they are just now having to evacuate their homes," said Heather Lucente, relief director of Constance Bay Flood Relief. 

Flood relief efforts have not stopped

The group was formed as the worst of the flooding hit. 

It's like financial ruin. And how do you support yourself? How do you manage all this?- Joanne Kumpf

Lucente said that even though the water levels have receded, there is still an urgent need for help in the area.

"We are currently helping around 100 [homes] still, with their rebuilding and just giving them support," she said. 

"We still have people who don't have hot water, or don't have [drinking] water. So they're using showers at the community centre, they're getting water from us."

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Joanne Kumpf is another resident who was forced out of her home. Her plan is to eventually build a new home in the same spot, but until that can happen, she's renting.

"It's like financial ruin. And how do you support yourself? How do you manage all this?" 

'Emotionally it's taken its toll'

Mounting expenses keep adding stress as the weeks roll on, said Kumpf.

"It's disastrous. Overwhelming. You're living and breathing this. You're trying to figure out what to do, how to go about it, and emotionally it's taken its toll," she said.

Through it all, Kumpf says she appreciates the work that the Constance Bay Flood Relief, and others, have done for people like her.

"I never thought I'd be someone that would be going to the donation counter for my toiletries, and food, and things like that," she said. "But I'm glad. I'm grateful for that. That means everything."