Flooding Prevention Tips for Homeowners

Prevent flooding around your property

On the west coast, heavy rain is common, particularly in the fall.

Follow the tips below to prevent flooding around your home during times of heavy rain.

Clear gutters & storm drains

Do not rake or blow leaves onto the roadway. This can cause flooding.

Ensure the City gutters and storm drains (inlet drains) around your property are clear of leaves, garbage and other debris. During a rainstorm, it can take several hours for City crews to remove the debris that is blocking water from a storm drain.

To help prevent flooding in your neighbourhood, remove debris from nearby gutters. After a snowfall, keeping the storm drains clear from snow will also help prevent flooding.

Clean your foundation drains

Most homes have perimeter drains installed slightly below the house foundation. These drains collect water from your house and property and direct it out to the City storm sewer. These drains are pipes and can become blocked by such things as leaves, pine needles, silt, dirt or roots.

The drains need to be periodically flushed or cleaned. If they are very old, they may need to be replaced. If they are not maintained, the amount of water they can handle is reduced, which can result in flooding inside the house.

Clear ditches & culverts

If you have an open ditch along your property, check that the ditch and culverts are clear. This includes inside the culvert. It is common for our crews to remove milk jugs, soccer balls, and other items from blocked driveway culverts.

Roof drains & splash pads

If your down pipes are connected to a hole near the house foundation, your down pipes are likely connected to your perimeter drains. 

These down pipes take rainfall from your roof gutters to the perimeter drains around your house foundation. This can cause excessive flow to your foundation drains and result in flooding of your house.

To prevent this, direct your home’s down pipes onto splash pads. This allows rainfall from your roof to soak into your lawn and garden.

After heavy snowfall

After periods of heavy snowfall, these are some additional steps residents should take to protect their properties from flooding.

• If you are aware of a catch basin located on your street adjacent to your property, remove any snow from its surface. Snow covered storm drains prevent the melting snow from properly draining into the City of Surrey's storm sewer system. This may result in water ponding and potentially impacting properties within close proximity to the storm drains.
• Clear any drains you may have on your own property to help drain water away from your house.
• Motorists, take extra precautions when travelling. Puddles on streets may be deeper than what they appear and may cause loss of vehicle control.

For more tips on dealing with major flooding, see our flood preparedness page.