Basement Flood Troubles Couple

Brenda Darel has gotten more than she bargained for since moving to Leamington last year.

When she married her husband Paul last October, she never dreamed their first year of marriage would be consumed by water.

In fact, she said, they have had to deal with water in their basement on five different occasions in recent months.

The worst, said Brenda, followed the torrential downpour about three weeks ago.

Paul filled and emptied the shop vac more than 40 times from the basement of their Wigle Street home.

That in itself, said Brenda, is very dangerous for her husband.

Extremely thin and gaunt, Paul is not in the best of health. He underwent a liver transplant 11 years ago and the strain of dealing with flooding is taking a toll --both physically and emotionally.

But following the most recent flood, black mould now grows above the baseboard throughout the basement.

Brenda is terrified of how this could affect Paul's health.

She's also afraid to have her children and grandchildren exposed to the mould and the symptoms it may cause.



"I can't even have them come here for Christmas," she said, as she broke down into tears.

Brenda said she feels like they are caught between a rock and a hard place.

They can't afford to move, yet they can't afford to continue living in the home that could take a real toll on Paul's health, especially since he is immuno suppressed because of the medications he takes following the transplant.

The Darels said they got an estimate to waterproof their basement from the inside which would cost $8,000 to $10,000 -- but it would also mean they'd have to tear out the kitchen and bathroom in the basement.

Brenda said they absolutely cannot afford to do that, yet they can't afford to continue living wondering if every heavy rainfall will bring more water intot he basement and more black mould.

"We can't even afford to get out of this house," said Brenda.

The Darels said with the real estate market in the state it is, and the obvious flooding problem -- they can't sell, they can't afford to go bankrupt and Paul, who has worked at H.J. Heinz for 32 years, can't afford to retire.

Paul said he believes the problem may be caused by the roots of a tree that grows near their home, or the fact that the storm and sanitary sewers are combined and the system can't handle the

the recent torrential downpours.

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