Blog · Waterloo
Waterloo's Stormwater Credit: Which Rain Barrels, Rain Gardens and Soakaway Pits Help a Basement, and Which Can Hurt It
Every Waterloo property pays a stormwater fee on the utility bill, and the City will reduce it for homes that manage their own rainwater. The projects that qualify overlap a lot with basement waterproofing, as long as they are built with the foundation in mind.
Last updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Waterloo Basement Waterproofing team
The City of Waterloo's stormwater credit program offers residential owners up to 45% off the stormwater fee on the utility bill when they manage rainwater on their property. The credit is tiered by how much water the project can capture, starting at 200 litres. From a basement point of view, the program is interesting for a different reason: most of the qualifying projects start by taking roof water away from the downspout, which is the same water that most often ends up against a foundation wall.
What qualifies
The City lists four kinds of project for residential credits:
- Rain barrels and cisterns. Barrels must hold at least 200 litres, be covered and leak-free with a screened opening, and their overflow must drain to grassed or garden areas, not pavement.
- Infiltration systems. Underground systems such as soakaway pits, dry wells and French drains that let roof water soak into the soil instead of reaching the storm sewer. Downspouts must be routed directly into them, gutter guards are required, and the system must be at least 5 metres from the house.
- Permeable pavers. Pavers with gaps that let water through, with at least 30 cm of stone base underneath to store it. Solid patio stones laid tight do not qualify.
- Rain gardens. Shallow planted areas that collect runoff from the roof or driveway, where the water must soak into the soil within 72 hours after rain.
Applications go to the City with the residential form, by email or mail. The credit stays only as long as the project works: if an approved system stops working or is removed, the credit ends and the fee goes back to the original amount.
The 5-metre rule is about your basement
The City's own reason for the distance on infiltration systems is to prevent basement flooding. A soakaway pit is designed to put a large volume of roof water into the ground in one place. If that place is two metres from the foundation, the water saturates the soil beside the wall, runs down the loose backfill against the basement and arrives at the weeping tile or the wall itself. The downspout that was dumping water at the corner is now dumping it underground at the corner, which is not an improvement.
The same logic applies to rain gardens and to the overflow from rain barrels. A rain garden placed right against the house, or a barrel whose overflow spills at the foot of the wall, keeps the soil next to the foundation wet. Build them out in the yard, downhill from the house if the lot allows.
Where each project fits on Waterloo ground
Much of Waterloo sits on the Waterloo Moraine, and the ground varies from lot to lot. That changes which project makes sense.
- Clean sand. Where a lot sits on the Moraine's sand and gravel, infiltration works well. A soakaway pit at the back of the yard, well away from the house, can take a lot of roof water.
- Clay or silt pockets. Where there is a layer of silt or clay, infiltration is slow, and a pit can fill and stay full. On those lots, rain barrels or a cistern that stores water for the garden are often the better choice, and the basement benefits from the water simply being moved away. Many basements in Lakeshore and Beechwood that leak every spring sit on exactly this kind of ground.
- Low ground and a high water table. Near Laurel Creek and in flatter parts of the city, the soil may already be wet close to the surface in spring. Adding more water underground there helps nobody. Storage and surface drainage work better.
Sump water is stormwater too
The City's stormwater bylaw defines stormwater to include uncontaminated groundwater discharged from foundation drains, sump pumps or other subsurface drainage systems. For a house with a sump, that means the discharge belongs with the rest of the stormwater: onto your own property, away from the house and the lot line. A sump discharging into a rain garden well away from the foundation is a reasonable arrangement. A sump discharging a metre from the wall is sending the same water around in a loop.
Combining a credit project with a waterproofing job
If you are having grading and downspout work done anyway, it is the right moment to plan where the roof water will end up. A downspout can be run underground to a pit at the correct distance, or into barrels with overflow directed away from the wall. If the basement needs an interior weeping tile and sump system, the discharge outlet can be placed with the same thinking.
The credit program itself is run by the City; check the current form and requirements before you build. For the waterproofing side, the Waterloo waterproofing cost guide explains how outside drainage fixes are priced, and you can book a visit to have the water around your foundation traced first.