Mitigation of Basement Flooding due to Sewer Backup: Overview and Experimental Investigation of Backwater Valve Performance

AbstractExtreme rainfall–related urban flooding and consequently, basement flooding due to sewer surcharge, has become one of the most significant drivers of disaster losses in Canada. It has been recommended that homeowners living in flood-prone regions protect their properties against basement flo...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Natural hazards review 2018-11, Vol.19 (4)
Main Authors: Irwin, Sarah, Howlett, Christopher, Binns, Andrew D, Sandink, Dan
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Backwaters
Design of experiments
Experimental design
Extreme weather
Fixtures
Flood management
Flooding
Floods
Flow rates
Forestry
Mitigation
Policies
Procedures
Rain
Rainfall
Technical Papers
Wastewater
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Summary:AbstractExtreme rainfall–related urban flooding and consequently, basement flooding due to sewer surcharge, has become one of the most significant drivers of disaster losses in Canada. It has been recommended that homeowners living in flood-prone regions protect their properties against basement flooding by installing backwater valves on sewer laterals and branch lines connected to plumbing fixtures. The most common causes of valve failure are identified and categorized into the following groups: (1) flow rates; (2) valve condition; (3) lateral slope; (4) lateral condition; and (5) wastewater material. A testing protocol developed through experimental design with respect to the failure-mode classifications is proposed to determine the lifecycles and maintenance intervals for different backwater valve models. The results may be used to create policies and recommend maintenance procedures to ensure an acceptable level of backwater valve function and to mitigate the occurrence of basement flooding events due to sewer surcharge.
ISSN:1527-6988
1527-6996
DOI:10.1061/(ASCE)NH.1527-6996.0000298