Atikokan woman sues town alleging municipal pumping station caused sewage to flood her basement

An Atikokan woman is suing the northwestern Ontario town after her basement was flooded in separate incidents in 2022. 

Melissa Bates said she lives next door to a municipal pumping station, which she blames for the raw sewage that flooded her basement in April and July 2022. 

She said she discovered the April flood after her cat came upstairs from the basement, inexplicably soaking wet. 

"It just started like boiling out of the toilet, any sewer down in the basement." 

Bates, who is a foster parent, said the flood damage was so severe that the children were removed from her home because it no longer met minimum standards of livable conditions. 

Bates said the costs to repair the basement have so far amounted to nearly $86,000. She said she also lost clothing, shoes and irreplaceable sentimental items. 

Bates said she asked the town for a backflow prevention valve that could prevent future floods, but didn't get one.

She has since retained lawyer Douglas Judson to try to get compensation for her damages, and a civil claim has been file in Ontario Superior Court of Justice.

None of the allegations have been proven in court. 

CBC reached out by email to the town on Thursday for comment but hadn't received a response as of end of day Friday. 

Town previously convicted for other sewage issues

The Town of Atikokan was convicted in 2024 of failing to upgrade sewage pumping systems and install backflow preventers. It was fined $60,000 for two Ontario Water Resources Act Violations related to offences between April 21, 2019, and March 24, 2020. 

While these offences are a separate legal entity from Bates's proceedings, Judson said it shows the town previously failed to comply with orders to install the same kind of backflow valve that was requested by Bates. 

"It definitely paints the picture that not everything was above board in how the municipality was managing its Water Works system," said Judson. 

"It actually makes me really angry that they can continue just to get away with with these things," said Bates.

Municipal docs show other properties reported flooding

Bates obtained municipal documents, through a freedom-of-information request, that include emails about the situation. Judson said that according to the emails, the pumping station was not functioning properly.

The documents, which were shared with CBC, show multiple property owners reported flooding.

"This is the second time in less than six months I have had water in my basement due to pump station malfunctioning," read one citizen request from July 2022.

An Ontario government water inspector warned the town in late May 2022 that the same pump system would likely overflow again, according to emails contained in the released documents.

Bates's attempts to contact the town and a claims adjuster were described in emails as "hounding."  

"Melissa is currently calling everyone and their mothers about this," read an email from a town employee. 

"I don't feel comfortable with how the mayor is attempting to order Public Works to go to her house," says another email from a different employee.

Bates said she feels its unfair that multiple homes have reported experiencing flooding related to the pump system. She also said she wishes the town had been more responsive and did more to support people with damaged homes. 

"I would just like to get back my house how it was before and be able to go on with my life."