Flood source covered up?

It has been a year since there was flooding in the Black Mountain and Kirshner Mountain subdivisions, and the city and BMID stand by the “ground water” claim.

If you remember, there were heavy, localized water streams. There are underground streams on both subdivisions, but the chemistry of the real ground water and the “flood waters” is completely different.

I believe one source of the flooding was a shut off valve on the BMID water mains. The valves have a spring-loaded drain valve that opens when there is a pressure difference between the inlet and outlet port of the valve. The design is to freeze damage. 

Just prior to the flooding last February, there was blasting in both subdivisions. This pressure wave would travel through the hillside and dislodge the spring drain feature, allowing water main pressure to flow freely into the ground and into our basements.

How can I prove this? I was one of the flood victims. I dug a catch pit and was pumping 4,000 litres of water out every day until June 4, and then it suddenly stopped. On that day, BMID was attending the next door neighbour's  house to close the main shut off, as they were renovating the basement plumbing.

BMID had a vacuum truck on site to trench to the valve, as it would not close. They had so much water flow from the leaking drain port, they had to constantly vacuum the valve area to be able to repair it.

I called BMID about this, and got the official “brush off.”

So, I went to the local plumbing supplier, purchased the same valve, built a working model, and when there is a pressure imbalance it leaks until the valve is reset (turn valve off, drain pressure, then turn valve on).

I presented my findings to the head engineer and received no explanation. Further requests resulted in a threatening email.

I have waited to see if the flooding would return, and it has not.

Fixing the valves might be an admission of fault and could cost BMID millions in damages.

Tom Bennett