Burlington says it has invested more than $90 million in stormwater infrastructure since 2015. Another $7.9 million is being spent on stormwater projects in 2026.

The easiest way to understand what that money is supposed to change is to look at Tuck Creek.

During the Aug. 4, 2014 storm, roughly 190 millimetres of rain fell and more than 3,000 Burlington homes reported flooding. In the Tuck Creek watershed, the City's flood study says crossings at New Street, Regal Road and Spruce Avenue were among 13 culverts that overtopped.

One creek, three major crossings

The City eventually selected a plan that would upgrade the New Street, Regal Road and Spruce Avenue crossings and widen parts of the creek channel.

Regal Road was first. Its bridge upgrade and channel work were completed in 2019.

New Street is the current phase. Channel work was completed earlier, and the bridge replacement is scheduled through 2025 and 2026.

Spruce Avenue is still ahead. The City's current Tuck Creek schedule puts that bridge and channel work in 2027 and 2028.

That is why “$90 million spent” does not mean Burlington's flood work is finished. Some of the infrastructure identified after the 2014 storm is still being built more than a decade later.

What the upgrades are meant to do

The Tuck Creek study evaluated several options before choosing upgrades to the three crossings and creek widening.

The City's stated goal is not to promise that flooding can never happen. It is to reduce the number of buildings exposed during major storm scenarios and help water move through the crossings more effectively.

That distinction matters. Extreme rainfall can exceed the capacity of any drainage system, and the City still tells residents to maintain sump pumps, backwater valves, eavestroughs and nearby storm drains.

The work is broader than Tuck Creek

Burlington's stormwater network includes 93 kilometres of creeks, about 2,000 culverts and roughly 16,500 catch basins, according to the City's 2026 public information.

The $7.9-million 2026 program is spread across stormwater projects rather than one creek. The City currently highlights Tuck Creek, Appleby Creek erosion-control work and the Lower Rambo Creek flood-mitigation environmental assessment among its major projects.

Halton Region is also working on a separate problem: basement flooding connected to the wastewater system. Its mitigation program is upgrading wastewater infrastructure in parts of Burlington and Oakville and offers subsidies for some private-property changes.

Those systems overlap during severe storms, but they are not the same thing. A creek overflowing, water collecting on a road and a basement backing up through the wastewater system can have different causes and different fixes.

One downtown flood study is paused

The Lower Rambo Creek environmental assessment is examining flood risk and possible infrastructure changes in downtown Burlington.

But the City says that assessment is currently paused while external agencies review creek flows and spills.

A draft project file was under City review in February 2026. The pause means there is not yet a final preferred project residents can treat as approved construction.

So has Burlington become safer from flooding?

There is clear evidence that physical infrastructure has changed. Bridges have been rebuilt, creek channels have been modified, stormwater money has continued to flow and more work is scheduled.

There is not enough evidence in the public material reviewed for this story to say Burlington has eliminated the locations that repeatedly flood, or to assign a simple city-wide percentage improvement.

The stronger answer is narrower: some of the exact weaknesses exposed in 2014 have been rebuilt, others are under construction, and at least one major downtown flood study is still unresolved.

That is the more useful measure to watch than the spending total alone.

Sources