The sump pump carries the single largest rebate in the City of Mississauga's flood program — up to $6,000. Here's what it actually is, why the City subsidizes it so heavily, and what it means for your home.
The problem: water under your house
After heavy rain or snowmelt, the soil around your foundation saturates. Water pressure builds against your basement walls and floor. Older homes drain that water through weeping tiles (perforated pipes around the foundation) into the municipal sewer — which works fine until the sewer itself is overwhelmed in a major storm. Then the water has nowhere to go but up through your basement floor.
The fix: collect it and pump it out
A sump system replaces that passive connection with active control:
- A sump pit (a lined basin) is set into the basement floor at the low point.
- The weeping tiles are redirected to drain into the pit instead of the city sewer.
- A pump in the pit automatically pushes the water out through a discharge pipe, well away from your foundation, whenever the level rises.
The result: groundwater never gets the chance to pool under your slab, and your foundation drains no longer depend on the city sewer having spare capacity in a storm.
Why the City pays for most of it
Every home that disconnects its foundation drains from the sewer reduces the load on the whole system during storms — which means fewer flooded basements city-wide and lower emergency costs for the City. That's why the rebate is so large, and why the companion measure — capping the old foundation drain connection — carries its own rebate of up to $1,000.
What the rebate covers
- Up to $6,000 toward the sump pump installation — contractor labour, materials and HST all count as eligible costs.
- Up to $1,000 for foundation drain (weeping tile) pipe capping.
- The camera inspection used to assess your drains is also an eligible cost.
- All within the program's overall $7,500 cap per application.
Two rules to know: the City must pre-approve the work before installation (mandatory since February 2025), and a home can only receive the sump pump rebate once every 10 years.
Battery backup: worth it?
The times your sump pump matters most — major storms — are exactly the times power fails. A battery backup keeps the pump running through an outage. If your basement is finished, it's cheap insurance relative to what's at risk.
Want to know what a sump system would cost for your home after the rebate? Our online estimate shows the itemized price, the rebate, and your net cost in about 2 minutes — before you ever talk to anyone.