Flooded Basement in London, Ontario: Who to Call and in What Order

If you have a flooded basement in London, Ontario, call in this order: your hydro utility if water is anywhere near the panel or outlets, then whoever can stop the source (a plumber, or the City of London if sewage is coming up the floor drain), then your insurance broker, then a water mitigation company to extract and dry. Rebuilding comes last. The order matters because each call makes the next one safer or cheaper.

Call 1: Hydro or gas, if there is any safety question

Do not walk into standing water if it has reached outlets, extension cords, the furnace, or the electrical panel. Call London Hydro and ask to have power disconnected, or call an electrician. If you smell gas, or the water has reached a gas furnace or water heater and you are unsure, leave the house and call your gas utility's emergency line from outside. If anyone is in danger, call 911. Nothing in the basement is worth getting hurt over.

Call 2: Whoever can stop the water

Who that is depends on where the water is coming from, so take a minute to look from the stairs.

• Clear water spraying or running from a pipe, tank or appliance: close the main water shutoff beside the meter, then call a plumber.
• Dirty water coming up through the floor drain, shower or toilet: stop using water in the house and call the City of London. They can check whether the blockage is in the municipal sewer. If it is in the pipe on your property, you need a plumber or drain company.
• Water rising from the sump pit or seeping in where the wall meets the floor: this is groundwater. Check that the sump pump has power and is running.
• Water coming in through window wells or under a door during a storm: this is surface water. Clear the window well drain and move downspout water away from the house if you can do it safely.

Write down what you saw. Your insurer's first question will be where the water came from, and the answer often decides the coverage.

Call 3: Your insurance broker or insurer

Call early, even before you know the full damage. In Ontario, sudden leaks from plumbing are covered under most home policies. Sewer backup and overland water from rain or rivers are usually optional add-ons that you either bought or did not. Policies differ, so ask your broker directly what applies to your situation, what your deductible is and what they want documented. Then take photos and video of everything before anything is moved or thrown out.

You do not need to wait for an adjuster to visit before stopping further damage. Policies generally expect you to take reasonable steps to limit the loss, and getting water out promptly is exactly that. Confirm this with your insurer on the first call.

Call 4: A water mitigation company

This is the call that gets the water out and the structure dry. Extraction comes first, then wet materials that cannot be saved are removed, then air movers and dehumidifiers run until the framing is dry. We follow IICRC S500 practice and dry until framing reads under 16% wood moisture content, with readings logged daily. Most water damage jobs here run $1,950 to $11,000. Send photos to (519) 555-0100 and you get a firm written quote within 2 hours, between 7 am and 9 pm. We serve London and the surrounding towns, including St. Thomas, Strathroy, Komoka, Ilderton, Dorchester and Ingersoll.

We do mitigation and environmental work only. Once the basement is dry and clean, we refer the drywall, flooring and paint to local contractors. You pay us directly, and we give you photos, readings and an itemized invoice to submit to your insurer.

Why basements in London flood

Much of the London area sits on clay-heavy soil. Clay drains slowly, so after a spring thaw or a heavy summer storm, water sits against foundation walls and pushes toward the weeping tile and sump. Older neighbourhoods such as Old North, Wortley Village and Old East have many homes with older drains and foundations that were never built for a finished basement. Low-lying areas near the Thames River see high groundwater in wet seasons. None of this means a flood is certain. It does mean a working sump pump, clear eavestroughs and downspouts that discharge well away from the wall earn their keep here.

What to do while you wait for help

• Keep children and pets upstairs and close the basement door.
• If the water is from a clean pipe leak and the power is safe, lift boxes, rugs and furniture off the floor.
• If the water is from the sewer or from outside, do not handle wet items with bare hands and do not run the furnace fan.
• Do not use the basement toilet, shower or laundry until the drain problem is found.
• Keep a list of who you called and when. It helps with the claim.

Once the basement is dry, ask the City about its basement flooding grant program. It has offered help with items such as sump pumps and backwater valves, and the terms change, so check the City of London website for what is current.

Common questions