With a record amount of snow this year, comes a high risk of
flooding. Experts say there are a few key things you can do around the house to
prevent water damage when all this snow finally melts.
“Right now there’s a lot of snow load and what you can do… is
use your snow blower or shovel and shovel the snow away from the foundation so
that way it’ll melt away from the house,” said Trevor Bridal, a home inspector
with Global Property Inspections.
Bridal says snow needs to be moved at least six feet away from the
house. Otherwise, water can seep into the foundation when the weather warms up.
gotten into the ground beside [it], has frozen, and when water freezes, it puts
pressure on your foundation causing cracking to your foundation,” he said.
In addition to removing snow around the house, the roof and eavestrough
should also be cleared.
Inside your house, there are a few items you should make sure are
working: a back flow valve, a sump pump, as well as the front cleanout.
Meanwhile, city crews are also preparing for the spring melt.
This week, snow was removed from key drainage ditches, up to 10
feet of packed snow in some cases.
“There’s a small window when the snow starts to become too soft
and the ground starts to become too soft for our larger ground equipment to
move into these areas.” said Helena Henning-Hill, Manager of Sewer and Drainage
Operations at the City of Regina. “So it’s really about timing and coordination
with our roadways crew.”
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