Woman seeks compensation from Durham Region for flooded basement

WATCH ABOVE: Pickering woman looking for compensation from Durham Region over her flooded basement. Carey Marsden reports.

Nancy Sinclair has forked up more than $20,000 to repair her home after a water main leak in 2013, and says Durham Region should be covering the costs.

“There is just a lack of accountability and no one seems to be responsible for anything,” she said.

It was late April, early May 2013 when Sinclair noticed Durham Region trucks and crew outside her home in Pickering.

She said it appeared they were working on the watermain, and when they were finished they left an orange pylon on top of the exposed watermain. It wasn’t until early June when a crew returned and told her the front yard was flooded.

“So I said, well when are you going to fix it?” Sinclair asked, to which she was told crews would return in two to three weeks as the leak “didn’t appear that bad.”

“Another hour later, I went into the furnace room and that’s when I saw all the standing water and that’s when they contacted their supervisor,” she said.

A supervisor visited her home and inspected the basement and took pictures of the damages, and she thought she was confident everything would be resolved. But that wasn’t the case.

“They’re just hoping you go away. They throw these roadblocks up thinking you’ll go away,” Sinclair said.

She has filed a claim for her damages that included 56 pages of invoices, photos and reports.

During the process, she learned that when she first saw work crews in her front yard, Durham Region had no record of crews being there. But there are records of regional crews returning to the residence to fix the problem.  Sinclair said there is even an official report from the construction supervisor, who noted:

“Regional staff working in the area noticed leak on water service. Water infiltration through foundation into basement.”

Despite the reports and pictures, Sinclair received a letter from Durham Region one year later that stated:

“When the supervisor attended the location he also confirmed with you that there was no water in your basement at that time.”

“To come back after six months,” said Sinclair. “And say well we talked to the truck drivers and there was no water in your house at that time? They had pictures taken by their staff in that file! It’s beyond my comprehension.”

Global News spoke to Matt Gaskill, the commissioner of corporate services for Durham Region, who said he couldn’t comment on the case because it was in legal hands now.

“She (Sinclair) has communicated to us, with legal counsel, that she doesn’t agree and she feels that damages have occurred as a result of regional activity and we don’t agree,” Gaskill said.

Sinclair said she knows her only recourse now is to file a claim in small claims court. But she is prepared to fight and take it to the next step.

“I don’t want anyone going through this. I don’t. It’s been a year and a half with a lot of stress and frustration.”