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Rain Ready Homes

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Rain is an esse​ntial part of life, but too much rain can cause flooding, erosion and pollution. As climate change progresses, we are seeing more frequent and intense rain storms.

Taking small actions at home can reduce the harmful impacts of stormwater runoff.​

Help protect your family, home, community and the environment by making your home rain ready!

Flood Protection

Here are some steps you can take to protect your home from flooding: 

Watch where the stor​mwater goes. The best time to learn about stormwater on your property is by watching where it goes when it rains. Take a walk around the outside of your home to see if stormwater is pooling in an area. If you see standing pools of stormwater this might mean that there are problems with your property’s drainage. 

Check the slope of your yard and the placement of roof downspouts. The ground around your house should slope downwards, away from the foundation a​nd next-door properties. To check the slope on your property, place a tennis ball on the ground near an outside wall. The ball should roll away from the outside wall. Roof downspouts should extend at least two metres away from your foundation and away from your neighbour’s property. If your downspout is too close, install an extension or a long splash pad to carry water away from the foundation. 

Keep your eavestroughs, roof downspouts, and drains clear. If eavestroughs, roof downspouts, and drains get clogged, stormwater can start pooling in an area rather than draining away. Remember to remove litter and debris like leaves and grass from your eavestroughs, roof downspouts, and drains. Make sure to check the top and bottom, and the curved parts of your roof downspouts. Consider gutter guards or leaf screens to prevent debris from getting into the eavestroughs. 

Cover any construction material or stockpiles to prevent debris from going into the storm sewers. When dirt, sand, clay, silt, or other materials are exposed to rain, they can be washed away and clog storm sewers that help move stormwater away from your home. Make sure to cover any of these materials with a tarp or move it under a shaded area to prevent them from entering the City’s stormwater drainage system. 

Visit the Brampton Emergency Management Office ​webpage to learn more about keeping your home and families safe during weather-related emergencies. 
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Here are some of the things you can do in your yard to help protect the environment from the impacts of stormwater like flooding, erosion and pollution. 

Remove unused or unnecessary pavement. Removing pavement or other hard surfaces around your property helps absorb more rain before it becomes stormwater runoff.  

Replace hard surfaces with permeable pavement. You can replace pavement with permeable pavement.  Permeable pavements should be located down-gradient from building foundations. If the permeable pavement receives drainage from other surfaces, it must be installed at least four metres down-gradient from the building foundation. 

Replace grass and artificial lawns with native plants, shrubs, and trees. During bigger storms, grass lawns are not deep enough to absorb all the stormwater. Artificial lawns don’t absorb any stormwater. When the lawn stops or does not absorb any stormwater it ends up in the City’s stormwater drainage system.  

Grass lawns and artificial lawns need a lot of water and work to stay nice looking. If you’re looking to replace your grass or artificial lawn, try planting gardens with native plants, shrubs, and trees in their place. Native plants need less fertilizer and water than ornamental plants. Check Credit Valley Conservation's rain-ready plant list to discover native plants and shrubs that help manage stormwater. 
 
Use deep garden beds and lots of mulch. By installing and maintaining deep soil beds and using mulch, you can save on the cost of watering your gardens. Deep soil and mulch help absorb and retain stormwater, helping keep your gardens from drying up. 
 
Install rain barrels. You can save costs on watering your gardens by installing a rain barrel. A rain barrel is a container that catches stormwater from a roof downspout. The stormwater is collected and stored in the barrel so it can be reused to water your lawn and garden during dry summer days. 
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​During heavy rainfall stormwater flooding can cause damage to your home if the stormwater is not managed properly. Managing stormwater and drainage on your property is the responsibility of the homeowner. 

If your home’s eavestroughs, downspouts, and property slopes are not maintained, stormwater can seep into the ground around your home’s foundation. This can cause cracks or leaks in the basement walls and foundation, and around windows or doors. 

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Single residential homes are not eligible for a credit on their stormwater charge. A single rain barrel provides some watering savings for the homeowner but many rain barrels would be needed to provide a measurable benefit in stormwater services. Roofs on single residential homes create a lot of stormwater during a regular summer storm (5 mm of rainfall). Homeowners with medium-sized roofs (180m2) need to install 5 rain barrels to help protect local rivers and creeks from erosion. 

During a larger summer storm (25 mm of rainfall) homeowners with medium-sized roofs would need to install over 23 rain barrels to help prevent pollution in nearby rivers and creeks.  

During an extreme 100-year storm (140 mm of rainfall), homeowners would have to install 126 rain barrels to hold all of the stormwater coming from a 180m2 roof.  ​
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Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), Credit Valley Conservation (CVC) and the Brampton Emergency Management Office (BEMO) offer information and resources to support homeowners in understanding flood risks. ​

  • Sign up for CVC flood messages: CVC issues flood warning messages to municipal emergency management officials and the media about potential thread to people and property. Messages can be found on their homepage, Facebook account and Twitter account. 
  • Sign up for TRCA ​flood messages: Residents can sign up to receive flood messages directly from TRCA by following them on Twitter or signing up online.  
  • Visit Alertable.ca or Download the “Alertable” app to get Canada-wide real time flood and other public eme​rgency alerts. 
  • Visit Brampton Emergency Management Office (BEMO) for resources to be prepared for any emergency. 

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​The Residential Guide to Flood Prevention and Recovery​ is broken down into the following categories – visit these sections for tips on topics most relevant to you. 

  • Types of Flo​oding & Flooding Prevention (dark blue section): page 4-8
  • General Preparati​on Before a Flood (orange section): page 9-13​
  • During a Flood (purple section): page 14-16 
  • After a Flood (light green section): page 17-23 
  • Health Considerations (light blue section): page 24-27 
  • Repairing Your Home (dark green section): page 28 ​

Grow Green Recognition - Rain Ready Homes

Want to be recognized ​as a Rain Ready Home? Share what you are doing to flood-proof your home and absorb rainfall by emailing: GrowGreen@brampton.ca​. Eligible flood prevention actions include any of the recommended actions in the Flood Guide or on this page. Eligible absorption practices include rain gardens, rain barrels, green roofs, permeable pavement, and depaving. We will send you a Rain Ready Home sticker for your window to recognize your contribution towards a safer, greener community!

​Learn more:

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Rain​ Ready Champions​

Check out the latest submissions to the Rain Ready Challenge by local residents!

Downtown Brampton resident Karli M. added a double downspout extender to move water away from their home’s foundation and toward the lawn, allowing it to be infiltrated where it can most benefit the mature tree canopy.



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​Image 1 & 2 - Double downspout extender​ (Photo by Karli M.)

Stacey W added a rainwater collection system on their property. The barrel collects r​ain at the back of the house and the front garden has a rainwater garden, with a dry river stone bed and native plantings to absorb runoff and support pollinators. Plants include, slender willow, boneset, Culver's root, prairie smoke, wild strawberry, little bluestem, among others...

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Image 3 & 4 - Rainwater Collection System (Left), D​​​ownspout leading to a Rain Garden​​ (Right) (Photos by Stacey W.)

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Leslie M. created a dry river be​d as part of their backyard landscaping and have a downspout directed into a rain barrel which drains into the river bed. An additional rain barrel is used to save water when watering plants.

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Image 5 & 6 - Rain Barrel draining to river bed (left), River bed when raining (right)

YOU can be Rain Ready like Karli, Stacey and Leslie and divert your downspout or collect rainwater on your property. Diverting a downspout helps prevent stormwater from seeping into the ground and causing cracks or leaks in your basement walls and foundation, and around windows or doors. Harvesting rainwater is an opportunity to reduce runoff, save drinking water, and utilize a free resource from nature!​​​​

Contact Environment and Development Engineering

Planning, Building and Growth Management
2 Wellington St W, Brampton​
905.874.2000

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