The district was warned about inadequate infrastructure in 2018 and did not take appropriate action, the B.C. Supreme Court lawsuit alleges.
Two years after an atmospheric river flooded buildings and dealt damage across the North Shore, the District of West Vancouver is facing a new lawsuit alleging negligence and $1.5 million in damages.
The strata owners of 2461 and 2455 Bellevue Ave. say the district should have been better prepared for the storm that hit on Oct. 19, 2024.
The property is situated at the base of a hill immediately downstream from a district culvert on Marr Creek “such that water escaping the drainage system and flowing downwards would foreseeably flow into the property including the parkade,” the court documents state.
During the 2024 atmospheric river, the stormwater system failed after becoming blocked, sending a large volume of water, mud, silt, gravel and debris overland along Bellevue Avenue.
The floodwater and debris reached the Bellevue building’s parkade ceiling, and fully submerged the building’s electrical room and elevator infrastructure.
After the storm, the strata was on the hook for emergency remediation and restoration, consulting and engineering bills, costs to repair or replace property damaged by the flood as well as building management and administrative costs.
“The plaintiff’s damages are currently expected to meet or exceed $1.5 million,” the claim states.
The district knew or ought to have known about the risk, the strata argues, given a similar flood that occurred in 2018.
“The district was advised at the time of this flood and took no, or inadequate, measures to address these risks and issues,” the claim states.
The 2024 flood was a result of the district’s “gross negligence” and breach of its duty of care, the strata argues.
Among other allegations, the strata asserts that the district designed and constructed the system “with insufficient hydraulic capacity” and failed to provide adequate overland flow routes to safely convey water. The district did not do adequate inspections and it did not keep the watercourse channel and basins free from debris. It also failed to respond promptly after the storm began, the suit alleges.
“It was foreseeable to the district that … failure to take reasonable care in the planning, design, construction, installation, maintenance, repair, management and monitoring of the drainage system, including the culvert, this system could be overwhelmed or overflow during rainfall, exposing nearby property owners … to a risk of flooding and property damage,” the suit states.
None of the allegations have been heard in court and the district has not yet filed a response to the claim.
In a statement, a district spokesperson declined to comment on the story while the matter is before the courts.
The notice of civil claim was filed in B.C. Supreme Court on Oct. 16 – three days before the two-year limit on B.C.’s statute of limitations rules for civil matters.