Expert suggests homeowners prepare ahead of week of wet weather

The more it rains, the more Nigel Malkin's cellphone rings.

With some parts of Metro Vancouver receiving 70 millimeters of rain Tuesday and more precipitation in the forecast throughout the week, he expects it'll be ringing quite a bit.

"Of course, you've got maybe 80 millimetres of rain and then all the snowmelt, so it's an invitation for disaster,” says Malkin, who owns Malkin Cleaners, Ltd.

His business focuses on repairing flooded homes and offices, something he says could become common for homeowners this week with a wet forecast ahead. Malkin says most calls he attends are preventable.

"Almost every single flood we have in someone’s house is from a lack of maintenance," he says.

He says now is the best time for homeowners to make sure their drains aren’t clogged and that debris is cleaned out from sump pumps and gutters to prevent any flooding in the days to come.

"Just maintain, maintain, maintain and you'll never have to see me come to your basement," he says.

UBC professor John Richardson believes climate change means more long-term solutions are needed.

“One of the thing we’re starting to experience is more frequent and more intense rainfall,” says Richardson. "Business as usual is just not going to serve us well as we get more rainfall.”

He suggests the region look at “nature-based” solutions.

"A lot of places that have intense storms, like the Midwest of the U.S., have really invested in structures called bioswales, which are just basically wetlands, so basically a place for the water to accumulate," he says.