Experts on watersheds, flooding and other water management issues are in Montreal for a two-day forum.
They’re looking for long-term solutions to prevent residential communities from being flooded.
More than 5,000 homes across Quebec suffered water damage following the spring floods.
Homeowners in the western area of greater Montreal were hard hit.
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Almost every home on des Maçons Street in Pierrefonds was partially under water. Many homeowners are struggling to pay their renovation bills and are still waiting on the government to write the cheques.
“They promise, promise, promise. We’re going to accelerate, accelerate, accelerate. Well, I’m still waiting,” flood victim Tim Coochey told Global News.
Coochey and many others are still waiting for financial compensation five months after waters flooded the banks of Rivière des Prairies.
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Coochey has put out Halloween decorations criticizing government officials for moving so slowly.
A few doors away — René Leblanc is also frustrated.
The home owner has already spent tens of thousands of dollars of his own money to clean up his basement and rebuild it from scratch.
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He doesn’t understand why it took a catastrophe for experts to gather and try and find long-term solutions.
“It took this to bring it up a notch in urgency. I’m a bit dismayed by that,” Leblanc said.
One water management expert told the forum that expanding low-lying areas may help protect residential communities.
“The flooding can go to those spaces and not to houses in the more urban areas,” Antoine Verville told Global News.
A meeting with Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux is planned later this month in Île-Bizard.
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