A $4.9-billion Sewer Master Plan has been approved for Windsor aimed at preventing flooding right across the city.
Council approved the plan during Monday's meeting with the goal of providing major upgrades in every ward to assist with flood prevention measures.
Ward 4 Councillor, Chris Holt, voted in favour of the plan.
Holt says this is easily the most expensive report he has every put his hand up for but calls it "necessary."
"What the sewer master plan is looking to address is the extensive flooding that Windsorites have been experiencing over the last few years and it's identified weaknesses in our system, it's identified infrastructure that needs to be invested in and upgraded," he says.
According to the administrative report, insurers paid claims totalling approximately $300-million following the historic floods of 2016 and 2017.
In 2017 alone, Windsor, Tecumseh and Lakeshore had a combined total of about 4,500 homes and businesses that reported flooding when 300 millimetres of rain fell in some locations.
Holt says this is something that council needs to take seriously now.
"Start making the investments now in the hopes to really start dealing with a lot of these overland and basement flooding issues," he says.
Holt says a lot of the initial investments are going to some of the hardest hit areas.
"That being said, the long-term plan here, and I'll repeat, $4.9-billion worth of long-term plan, is to address flooding in the entire city and it touches upon every single ward and every neighbourhood in the city," he added.
As part of the plan, council approved spending $1.5-million for immediate projects.