It’s only December and John Kaplan has just about had enough of the rainy season already.
After all, there’s only so many five-gallon shop vac buckets of ditch water you can suck out of your basement.
Last week’s heavy rainstorms were too much for the four-foot deep ditch that runs the length of Gilley Road in Hamilton and fronts Kaplan’s single-family home.
And it was apparently too much for the City of Richmond’s pump station – called the Queens Road North station - nearby at Westminster Highway and River Road.
Kaplan, a magician to trade, couldn’t make the water disappear from his prized 1950s-themed basement, decanting about 26 shop vac buckets-full during last week’s storms.
Yet the basement kept filling up.
“It just started creeping up and up the lawn (from the overflowing ditch),” Kaplan explained to the Richmond News.
“A few years ago, I installed more drainage at the side of my house on the driveway; two large drains and that seemed to help.
“But this last week or two, there was nothing I could do and it wasn’t my drainage problem. I’ve had high ditches before, but there was nothing in the basement.
“The damage is minimal in the basement, as we had a large pull-up carpet. The city sent a crew out to the pump station and the ditches drained like a rock last week.”
Kaplan, who has lived at his home for 20 years, said the sub divisions around his property are built a bit higher, so it’s possible there could me more run-off towards his lot during heavy rainfall and high water tables.
“But they were built more than 20 years ago, so that can’t be it,” he said.
“However, there was a tree farm down the road that was clear cut recently, so maybe that’s putting more water into the ditches.”
Querying if there’s an issue with the nearby pump station or not, Kaplan said he’d like to “see it resolved” as soon as possible, before his basement gets completely ruined.
“We all knew the rains were coming last week. The ditches are here for a reason, but they don’t seem to be working.
“And that’s just with heavy rain. What would happen if the (Fraser) river ever burst? There certainly, at least, needs to be better management of the ditches.”
City spokesperson Ted Townsend said there were no related issues with the pump station in question.
However, with the recent heavy rains, debris has been an issue in the canals leading to the pump station and crews removed debris from the canal.
This, said Townsend, allowed the water to drain to the station unrestricted and alleviated the issue.
“Mr. Kaplan should not expect this every rainy season, but may see water levels raise in the canals and/or ditches in the area during heavy rain storms,” Townsend added.
If residents see such issues with the canals, they are encouraged to report them to the city’s public works 24/7 dispatch at 604 270-8721.
