Construction is well underway on a new stormwater pumping station to combat flooding and basement flooding issues in the Riverside area of Windsor.
Work on the St. Rose Pumping Station Project, at St. Rose Beach Park on Riverside Drive, began in the back half of 2024 and is slated for completion by fall 2026.
The new pumping station along the Detroit River will be situated almost entirely below grade, centralized within the eastern portion of the site, and will include an above-grade electrical building and an emergency backup generator.
The pumping station is one of several flood mitigation investments in response to two historic storms that resulted in massive flooding across Windsor-Essex, including the Riverside area.
In September 2016, more than 1,600 homes flooded across Windsor and Tecumseh as 220mm (8.6 in) of rain fell in a 12-hour period.
Beginning the night of Aug. 28 and continuing throughout the day on Aug. 29, 2017, the Windsor-Riverside area was hit with 170mm (7 in) of rain while 290mm (11 in) was recorded in neighbouring LaSalle, leaving thousands of homes flooded.
Ward 6 Councillor Jo-Anne Gignac, who represents the Riverside area, says the additional pumping capacity is life-changing.
"It's life-changing to people who have lived in Riverside their whole lives. As the mayor mentioned, in 2016 and 2017, the huge flooding was unprecedented. We were flooded right to the VIA Rail tracks from the river," she says.
The Insurance Bureau of Canada reported that the 2017 event caused more than $124 million in insured damage across Windsor-Essex.
Gignac says this is a life-altering project for those who have faced flooding in their home.
"People who utilized the lower levels and some people who were built at grade lost their first floors. All of their belongings were gone. As we said to them, the mayor said at the time, we are going to fight for you to bring relief from this type of natural disaster.," she says.
Gignac says the St. Rose project and work at the nearby St. Paul Pumping Station will have a major impact for people in Riverside.
"2,800 people are going to benefit from the additional pumping capacity that those two infrastructure projects are going to provide,' she says.
The city is investing $22 million in the St. Rose project through the City's Sewer and Coastal Flood Protection Master Plan (SMP).
The city has budgeted to spend $62.7 million in 2025, part of $485.2 million being invested in sewer and stormwater upgrades, a major component of the 10-year capital plan approved in this year's capital budget, which invests $2.24 billion to sustain the future growth and development.