HAMILTON, ON – February 16, 2010 – Hamilton’s Public Works Department is advising residents of unsolicited representatives coming door-to-door to install backflow valves in homeowners’ basements and falsely representing themselves as being employed by the City of Hamilton. City staff have recently learned from residents that persons claiming to be completing the work on the City’s behalf have tried to gain access to residents’ basements, claiming that the City of Hamilton sent them to install a free backflow valve paid for by the City.

These individuals may be trying to take advantage of the City’s ongoing Protective Plumbing Program. The City’s program, implemented in October 2009, offers grants to residents whose properties have been repeatedly flooded. Eligible homeowners would have received a letter from the City indicating they are eligible to participate in this program.

"We are encouraging homeowners to exercise caution when approached by these representatives," said Dan McKinnon, Director of Water and Wastewater Operations with the City of Hamilton. "The City would not send a plumber to a home to install a backflow valve as part of our protective plumbing program. Any City staff that may visit homes as part of this program will present the appropriate identification to the homeowner, verifying that they are a City employee."

For more information about the City’s Protective Plumbing Program, please visit www.hamilton.ca/floodaware or call 905-546-4426