Pilot Projects

“Integrating Stormwater and Watershed Management”

Cities of Hamilton and Thunder Bay, Ontario

Summary

The Municipal Adaptation and Resilience – Integrating Stormwater and Watershed Management project, funded through generous support from the RBC Blue Water Project, aims to help municipalities better manage stormwater and mitigate flooding to address climate change impacts. The project supported demonstration projects in two Great Lakes cities: Thunder Bay, Ontario and Hamilton, Ontario. The City of Thunder Bay and partners designed and constructed a Low Impact Development (LID) biofiltration facility for stormwater on Memorial Avenue. The intent of this LID is to improve parking lot drainage, mitigate potential flooding, and help remove water contaminants from the drainage area. In Hamilton, the City and partners undertook an in-depth analysis of the relationship of future climate temperature, precipitation and hydrology/hydraulic characteristics to potential effects on 12 bridges and four environmental features in the Spencer Creek Watershed. These pilot projects seek to provide lessons for other communities on how knowledge and management of the broader watershed can support more effective stormwater management and flood mitigation within a municipality while simultaneously reducing contaminants entering the Great Lakes.

Background

Increasingly, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence municipalities are experiencing effects symptomatic of climate change. More frequent and intense storms, severe flooding, drought and even tornadoes threaten public safety as well as public and private property and infrastructure around the region. Additionally, stormwater and flooding can have an adverse effect on our freshwater resources, polluting our lakes and rivers with surface contaminants. As we begin to face more uncertainty around the climate and weather, municipalities need to consider these future climate effects in order to ensure they continue to protect their citizens, infrastructure and property, and our freshwater resources.

Resources

Fact Sheet: Provides overview of each pilot project and lessons learned

Photo Sheet: Provides photos of the projects

Webinar Archive: Link to archived April 15, 2015 webinar entitled Climate “Change Vulnerability Assessments and Green Infrastructure Initiatives to Enhance Stormwater Management and Watershed Planning”, an overview of the two demonstration projects and lessons learned

Integrated Water Management Pilot Projects: Thunder Bay and Hamilton [webinar recording file]

Generous Funding Provided by:

Project Partners