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Flooded basement. (Courtesy: Samuel Huberdeau)<\/p>\nEdmonton homeowners are still dealing with flooded basements, as the region is on track for the wettest summer on record, and for one first-time homeowner, it\u2019s a rough learning lesson as they are finding out their insurance doesn\u2019t cover flooding.<\/p>\n
Sarah Dhanoo has to juggle her 1-year-old while cleaning up her flooded basement for the fourth time this summer.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s frustrating. It takes a lot of time and a lot of effort. It\u2019s exhausting,\u201d said Dhanoo.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Insurance denied her claim, her policy insurance denied her claim, her policy does not cover this type of water seepage.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can see in the future that it\u2019s going to cost us tens of thousands of dollars, and unfortunately, that is not something we have in our pockets, and we\u2019ve got to save money where we can,\u201d said Dhanoo.<\/p>\n
But even for those who have insurance, finding someone to make a repair could take months.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I called my insurance provider as soon as I found out it was a flood, but there\u2019s nobody available. All the major companies are all flat out, so then I had to reach out to a friend of mine, and they were able to come the next day,\u201d said Samuel Huberdeau, a property owner.<\/p>\n
Flooded basement. (Courtesy: Samuel Huberdeau)<\/p>\n
As companies big and small find themselves flooded with calls, like Melseth Contracting Inc., which is getting a lot more than their usual five calls per month.<\/p>\n
\u201cLike around 25 to 45 calls per month \u2026 just the other day we received five calls in the same, like in the first two hours of the morning,\u201d said Suzette Macalanda, the project manager of Melseth Contracting Inc.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/MELSETH-CONTRACTING-VAN.jpg\")
Melseth Contracting van. (Leo Cruzat, CityNews)<\/p>\n
Repairs can take months. Edmonton\u2019s Telus World of Science closed until at least November because of extensive water damage.<\/p>\n
EPCOR says this summer\u2019s heavy rain is challenging the system as a whole.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve seen rainfall events that have approached 100-year levels, and that can certainly challenge our system. When you see that amount of rainfall in a very short period of time, it can challenge the capacity of our collection system,\u201d said Anthony Nardi, the senior director of Linear Asset Operations at EPCOR.<\/p>\n
For homeowners like Huberbeau, as he deals with backed-up sewage, he\u2019s just bracing for the next storm.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re almost at a point of no return where every time it rains we expect water to come up. So it\u2019s like, you know, we don\u2019t know what to do anymore. All we can do is mitigate,\u201d said Huberdeau.<\/p>\n
For a first-time homeowner like Dhanoo, she has some advice when looking for insurance.<\/p>\n
\u201cReally understand what you\u2019re covered for, and kind of just know what you\u2019re getting yourself into, and know what you\u2019re paying for as well,\u201d said Dhanoo.<\/p>\n
\t\t\t\t\t![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/SARAH-DHANOO-VACUUMING.jpg\")
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\t\t\t\tSArah Dhanoo vacumming. (Leo Cruzat, CityNews) <\/p>\n
\t\tKeep it Factual<\/p>\n
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