Regina flooding: Sewage backup in at least 276 homes

There may have been millions of dollars of damage done after sewage backed up into the basements of Regina residents on the weekend.

The city says it received 276 reports of sewer backup and another 33 reports of potential flooding.

On Wednesday, council voted to apply for eligibility under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program.
Assuming that gets approved, the city will then make application forms available to residents. 

It's believed that most of the cases will involve damage in the $3,000 to $15,000 range, which could push damages into millions of dollars.

Regina's Mario family was facing a messy cleanup after the sewers backed up into their basement.

"Additional properties have been reported to have damage, but the extent of the damage is unknown to us at this time," an administration report to Regina city council says. 

"Past experience also shows that many more claims will arise over the coming weeks as awareness of the program grows."

The more than 100 millimetres the city received over four days overwhelmed the sewer system, leaving some people with half a metre of sewage in their basements.

Some basements also flooded following heavy rains on June 18, with one resident reporting estimated damage of $10,000.

About 175 millimetres of rain fell on the city last month — more than double what the city usually gets in June.