Our basement sump pump has been working. As have those of many others in the region.
The excessive rainfall of this summer, sometimes up to three times the usual amount, has created havoc to people’s living accommodations. Basements that have never experienced water seepage are now home to steady flows of water.
For those with insurance, examining their policies highlights this disaster. Water seepage is not generally covered.
This policy exclusion is understandable.
An insurance company looks at risk. To examine the condition of weeping tile, to test the ability for basement walls to repel water, to assure that grading from the exterior walls remains acceptable, and even to perform a cursory inspection of cracks in below-ground dry-walled interior walls is difficult. The best advice would be to exclude water seepage from insurance policies.
A high faluting word, “asset management”, means that a homeowner should be setting aside money to care for expected deterioration. This might include window replacement, appliance obsolescence, and yard grading and landscaping.
Between asset management and insurance coverage, homeowners have invested heavily to be able to care best for their property.
Usually we would not expect a basement that for 30 years has been completely dry, to now seep water.
But this year, the homeowner is left high and dry in a wet and soggy land. Continuous water saturation is at a record high. Where seepage appears, reconstruction and renovation costs are inevitable to help avoid such health risks as mould and harmful bacteria.
Is this year’s flooding a disaster? On Friday there were no sump pumps available for sale in Kindersley. Insurance agents had already fielded questions about coverage for water seepage. Suggestions were beginning to float around the region, suggesting that disaster relief might be a way to help homeowners.
We can claim disaster relief from the provincial and national governments – for good reason.
Governments are there to protect the people. To provide for us a safe and livable environment. Sometimes we may wonder at their extreme rules and codes. The government will claim that their mandate to keep us safe is at stake.
But, when a situation beyond the control of the government arises, the government has a right and an obligation to assist. Assist in helping those who are placed at risk. Assist in returning a balance to a unsafe and unhealthy situation.
My question: Is the current extreme water saturation a sufficient emergency to warrant disaster relief? Should the town of Kindersley and surrounding municipalities declare their desire to receive disaster relief at this time?
