Downspout disconnection rebates in Peel, Halton and York

Outside Toronto, Halton Region pays up to $900 to disconnect downspouts that drain into the sanitary sewer in Burlington, Oakville, Milton and Halton Hills. Mississauga pays $125 a downspout, up to $500. Peel disconnects some downspouts free, one neighbourhood at a time, and York Region cities make disconnected downspouts a condition of their backwater valve subsidies.

Why do GTA regions want downspouts disconnected?

Because roof water does not belong in the sanitary sewer. In many older GTA homes, downspouts run into a pipe in the ground that connects to the sewer system. In a heavy storm, all that roof water adds to the flow, and Peel Region warns that rainwater in the sanitary sewer can overload it and raise the risk of basement flooding. A disconnected downspout puts the water on the lawn instead, where it can soak in.

Toronto made disconnection mandatory and has its own help for eligible seniors and low-income households: see Toronto's downspout disconnection bylaw and the basement flooding subsidy. The rest of the GTA runs on regional and city programs instead, and they differ a lot.

What does Halton pay in Burlington and Oakville?

Halton Region runs the water and wastewater system for Burlington, Halton Hills, Milton and Oakville, and its downspout disconnection subsidy is the most generous outside Toronto:

• It covers 100% of materials and invoiced contractor labour, up to $900 for work done after July 15, 2024 ($500 for work on or before that date). Your own labour is not covered.
• The downspout must have drained into the wastewater (sanitary) system, and you need proof of that connection before the work: a Region drainage survey where your home qualifies, or a plumber's or drainage contractor's assessment, such as a camera inspection or dye test.
• Homes on septic systems are not eligible, and the subsidy is paid once per property, even after a change of owner.
• No permit is needed for the downspout work itself. Apply within one year of the work, with the signed application and waiver, the paid itemized invoice, before and after photos and a sketch.
• The new discharge should land about 3 m from the foundation, on ground that slopes away from the house.

Halton's free Household Drainage Survey is aimed at homes built from the mid-1950s to the late 1970s that have reported wastewater backup flooding and sit in the Region's priority areas. If that is not you, a contractor's assessment is the route to proving the connection.

What do Mississauga and Peel offer?

Mississauga and Brampton sit in Peel Region, which runs the sewers, but the money comes from two places.

• Mississauga's basement flooding prevention rebate pays up to $125 per downspout disconnected, to a $500 maximum, within a $7,500 total per property that also covers sump pumps and backwater valves. Since February 12, 2025, every measure needs pre-approval, the work must be done by a licensed contractor, and owner labour is not reimbursed.
• Mississauga is also running a Lisgar pilot that removes downspout connections to the City's foundation drain collector system in one block of Ward 10, at no cost to homeowners, with construction planned from summer 2027.
• Peel's downspout disconnection program disconnects downspouts that drain to the sanitary sewer at no cost, one neighbourhood at a time, starting with areas that have flooded or have limited sewer capacity. Peel contacts eligible homes; everyone else is encouraged to disconnect at their own cost.
• Peel's backwater valve rebate pays 60% of the invoice, up to $1,500 including tax, and expects downspouts to be disconnected from the sanitary sewer first, or a signed acknowledgement and release.

What about Markham, Vaughan and Richmond Hill?

York Region cities do not pay for the downspout work itself. Instead, a disconnected downspout is the ticket to their basement flooding money:

Vaughan also notes that some streets are connected to a clean water collection system, where disconnection is not required. Check your street before you cut anything.

How do you apply without losing the rebate?

Most refused rebates fail on paperwork, not on the work. The common rules across these programs:

1. 1Read the current program page first. Amounts, dates and eligibility change, and some programs pay first come, first served until the money runs out.
2. 2Get the approval or proof the program asks for before anyone cuts a pipe: Mississauga's pre-approval, or Halton's proof that the downspout fed the wastewater system.
3. 3Use a licensed contractor where the program requires one, and get an itemized quote and invoice.
4. 4Photograph the downspout and standpipe before and after, and keep a simple sketch of what was changed.
5. 5Apply inside the deadline: Halton wants applications within a year of the work, and Mississauga wants final approval within six months of pre-approval.

Where does the water go once it is disconnected?

Onto your own lawn or garden, away from the house, and not onto anyone else's property. Peel asks for at least 2 m (6 ft) from the foundation and says not to drain onto asphalt or concrete. Halton suggests about 3 m. Burlington's property standards bylaw, By-law 28-2009, sets a floor of 0.6 m from the building, or a distance the officer accepts, with the water carried along an acceptable path. Where downspouts should drain covers the setup, and neighbour's downspout flooding your yard? covers the lot-line rules.

What does this mean in Burlington?

Burlington homes are on Halton's program, and the older streets are where connected downspouts turn up. Roseland's mature homes near the lake sit under old oaks and maples that drop late, so a downspout that runs into the ground there also carries a lot of leaf grit toward the pipe. Up toward Tyandaga and the Escarpment, hillside lots drop a full storey at the back, so a new extension has to send water away from a tall rear wall and down a slope without crossing a neighbour's yard.

Our crews do not cut or cap sewer connections; that is work for a plumber or a drainage contractor, and Halton's paperwork expects one. What every visit does include is a downspout flush, a flow test and a check that each spout discharges away from the foundation, with an extension added or adjusted where it falls short. Downspout service in Burlington comes with a cleaning at $399 for a two-storey detached home before HST in 2026, priced by the tallest working height.

Sources

• Halton Region: Downspout disconnection subsidy
• Halton Region: Flood preparedness and reducing your risk
• City of Mississauga: Basement flooding prevention rebate
• City of Mississauga: Lisgar downspout disconnection pilot
• Region of Peel: Disconnecting your downspout
• Region of Peel: Backwater valve rebate
• City of Markham: Basement flooding and sewer backup prevention
• City of Vaughan: Sanitary back-water valve subsidy
• City of Vaughan: How to disconnect a downspout
• City of Richmond Hill: Backwater valve subsidy program
• Burlington Property Standards By-law 28-2009 (PDF)