brown-coloured water spews out of catch basins<\/a> because the combined sewer and storm water system is overburdened and the aging infrastructure can\u2019t cope with the flow.<\/p>\nResidents have lost washing machines, dryers, lawn mowers, generators, bicycles \u2014 even cars \u2014 to water damage.<\/p>\n
Dunfield said in the past they\u2019ve found shredded toilet paper, sanitary products and contraceptive products on their lawns and driveways after a flooding event.<\/p>\n
![\"Firefighters](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787572453_415_default.jpg\")
A severe example of flooding on Stannus Street after a rainstorm the evening of July 12, 2024. (Amanda Dunfield)<\/p>\n
She said she\u2019s spent \u201cwell beyond the six-figure range\u201d on remediation and prevention efforts, but that\u2019s still not enough to ensure her house is protected.<\/p>\n
With no end in sight and no immediate hope of selling the property, Dunfield\u2019s patience has run out and she purchased a new home in another region.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was absolutely not easy. I\u2019m taking on a large mortgage at retirement age as a single parent with a minor child,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s scary.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was a process for sure trying to find a home that\u2019s within our very tiny budget, leaving behind what we thought was a build of equity and starting fresh from scratch again.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Abraham Zebian, mayor of West Hants Regional Municipality, said \u201cit\u2019s unfortunate that any resident wants to leave a community.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe never want to see that be the case at all,\u201d\u00a0Zebian told CBC. \u201cEverybody has to make a decision that works for them. If that\u2019s what she feels is best for her at this point, we \u2026 have to respect her decision and we support her in her move going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
The fix\u00a0<\/p>\n
In August 2025, CBCL Limited, an engineering and environmental design consulting firm, presented a long-awaited report to council with a series of recommendations after it was hired by the municipality to study the system and its limitations.<\/p>\n
CBCL found that in order to fully address the issue, the combined sewer and storm water pipes must be separated.<\/p>\n
This would ultimately cost more than $142 million, the firm\u2019s report said.<\/p>\n
But engineers also presented several less costly, shorter-term options that could improve the flooding and ease the burden on the system in the meantime.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zebian said the municipality is moving forward with a plan recommended by the experts \u2014 a combination of separating the pipes over time, but also building a series of diversion measures to move the storm water away from the downtown core toward Tregothic Marsh near Highway 101.\u00a0<\/p>\n
He said this is currently in the detailed design phase. Once completed, the designs must be approved before funding applications can be submitted and construction can begin.\u00a0<\/p>\n
![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1787572453_34_default.jpg\")
A drone shot of Stannus Street after a major flooding event in 2023. (Alex Hanes)<\/p>\n
Council has approved the designs for a diversion project on O\u2019Brien Street that is expected to go to tender in November, the mayor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Zebian could not put an exact price tag on these projects at this stage, but said they\u2019re expected to cost \u201cmillions and millions,\u201d and the municipality will require financial support from all levels of government.\u00a0<\/p>\n
To date, the provincial Department of Municipal Affairs has invested almost $1.8 million for flood-risk studies and infrastructure improvements in West Hants. That\u2019s including $317,000 \u201ctowards flood-risk studies and design work associated with Windsor\u2019s downtown core,\u201d a provincial spokesperson confirmed in an email.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Kings-Hants MP Kody Blois told CBC in an interview that he\u2019s aware of the infrastructure problems in Windsor and although they\u2019re ultimately the municipality’s responsibility, he knows that requests for federal support are \u201ccoming down the line.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen there\u2019s municipal issues or municipal infrastructure needs, I always try to be a champion for the needs of our community to try to work with the province and work with the various federal departments on where we can find the funding,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Too little, too late\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dunfield said residents are feeling discouraged and a future fix does not help those dealing with the problem today.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere\u2019s no definitive end in sight. We\u2019re hearing talk, talk, talk, talk and no action,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said when she and her daughter, 11, have tried to speak up and advocate on behalf of the community, they\u2019ve felt \u201cdismissed and minimized.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIf this was the MLA\u2019s home, if this was the mayor\u2019s home, if this was their children, would the action be different? Would they voluntarily come on down here with their families and ride this out until the situation is resolved?\u201d Dunfield asked.<\/p>\n
Zebian said he wishes things could move faster.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cUnfortunately with Mother Nature and the fixes that are required for this type of work, it can\u2019t be done overnight. But the council has done a significant amount of work, and has allocated significant resources to getting these fixes complete,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s too little, too late for Dunfield, who has already packed up and moved out, ready to call a new community home.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m feeling very optimistic that we can pick up some of where we left off \u2026 where we\u2019re not being held hostage by the weather, hostage by the inaction, hostage by the finances of dealing with cleanups, evacuations, all this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
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