Rising Water Levels in the Great Lakes – Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative

Water levels in the Great Lakes and St Lawrence. Presented by the International Joint Commission(IJC).

This webinar has already passed, watch the video recording.

Action Plan 2030

The result of 18 months of consultations, the action plan makes recommendations to the Federal and Provincial Governments that support local action to improve water quality, stop erosion, and reduce pollution in your community.

This webinar has already passed, watch the video recording.

Erosion and Flooding in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Best Practices and Lessons Learned

Join the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative for a presentation by municipal leaders and industry experts who will share experiences and recommended best practices for coastal erosion and flooding. – Sponsored by Stantec

This webinar has already passed, watch the video recording.

PRIMED PLACES = PRIME PLACES

September 26, 2018 @ 11:00 am central/noon eastern
Presented by GEI Consultants

Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative members have to do more with less in an age of increased flooding, budget cuts, and pressure to attract jobs while reinvesting in open space and other assets for a vibrant quality of life. The first webinar in the Cities Initiative’s 2018-2019 series will be
Primed Places = Prime Places, presented by experts at GEI Consultants Ltd, to provide municipal leaders with a method for tackling these and other stresses by building community resilience through green infrastructure and similar approaches.

This webinar has already passed, watch the video recording.

ADDRESSING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE POLICY BARRIERS IN CANADA AND THE US

October 24, 2018 @ 11:00 am central/noon eastern
Presented by the Great Lakes Commission and Credit Valley Conservation Authority

Local communities are generally at the forefront of stormwater management, challenges, and innovation, but municipalities’ capacity to develop green infrastructure (GI) is heavily influenced by federal, state, and provincial policy. This webinar will summarize federal, state, and provincial policies in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence basin that promote or hinder GI and provide recommendations to create enabling conditions for communities to implement GI.

This webinar has already passed, watch the video recording.

RESILIENCY FOR RESOURCE-STRAPPED COMMUNITIES

November 14, 2018 @ 11:00 am central/noon eastern
Presented by the Delta Institute

Experts at the Delta Institute, a nonprofit aimed at collaborating with communities to address environmental issues, will speak on green infrastructure related resources and tools that can be used in resource-strapped communities interested in taking steps on adaptation. Delta Institute will provide examples from their work in Gary, Hobart and Michigan City.

This webinar has already passed, watch the video recording.

FINANCING CLIMATE RESILIENT WATER INFRASTRUCTURE

Thursday, February 21 2019 @11:00 am central/noon eastern
In partnership with the Mayors Innovation Project

The Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative and the Mayors Innovation Project are hosting a webinar to provide an overview of financing needs and existing/emerging options for water and stormwater infrastructure for municipalities. Over the last four decades, financing of water infrastructure has drastically changed so far as the source of the money: from primarily federal funding to primarily local and state funding. Especially in light of climate related meteorological changes, the investment gap between what is needed and what is available, continues to grow. To find out more and view the presenters, click register now.

This webinar has already passed, watch the video recording. See below for the panelist presentations.

1. Sanjiv Sinha, VP – ECT and Director – P3GreatLakes.org
   Presentation: Financing Climate Resilient Water Infrastructure
2. Eric Letsinger, CEO – Quantified Ventures
   Environmental Impact Bonds
3. Cherian George, Managing Director – Fitch Ratings and Member – Forbes’ National Infrastructure Council
   Financing Infrastructure in the 21^st Century

Keynote Speaker 1: Dan Egan

Dan Egan, Fellow, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, School of Freshwater Sciences
Watch here the video of Dan Egan in conversation with Dave Ullrich.

Panel 1: Resilience Solutions for Flooding and Extreme Weather

John Dickert, Former Mayor of Racine and President/CEO of the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative.
1. John Dickert Presentation

Bill Schleizer, President and CEO of Delta Institute
2. Bill Schleizer Presentation

Claudia Verno, Director of Policy, Insurance Bureau of Canada
3. Claudia Verno Presentation

Panel 2: Municipal Liability Related to Extreme Weather

Teresa Chan, Senior Attorney, Environmental Law Institute
1. Teresa Chan Presentation

Brian Kelly, Manager of Sustainability, Region of Durham
2. Brian Kelly Presentation

Panel 3: Coastal Resilience Solutions for Shoreline Municipalities

Mayor Marc Parent, Mayor of Rimouski
1. Marc Parent Presentation

Julie Kinzelman, Research Scientist, City of Racine
2. Julie Kinzelman Presentation

Mike Donahue, Vice President of Water Resources and Environmental Services, AECOM
3. Mike Donahue Presentation

Cameron Davis and Peter Ventin

Cameron Davis and Peter Ventin, Vice Presidents, GEI Consultants

To view this presentation, please contact Jane Eagleton at jane.eagleton@glslcities.org.

Panel 4: Tech Solutions for Climate Resilience

Lance Watkins, Science Systems and Applications, Inc. NASA DEVELOP Center Lead
1. Lance Watkins Presentation

Loch McCabe, Founder, Energy Emissions Intelligence, LLC, and project team member of the American Water Works Association Water Utility for Energy Change
2. Loch McCabe Presentation

City to City Partnerships Panel

• Mayor Serge Peloquin, City of Sorel-Tracy, Quebec
• Deputy Mayor Jarkko Virtanen, City of Turku, Finland and the Union of Baltic Cities

Public Private Partnerships Panel

• Steven Hobbs, Canadian Council for Public Private Partnerships
• Pierre J. Hamel,  INRS Urbanisation

Keynote: Pierre Beland

Special Session: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative

• Mayor Mike Vandersteen, City of Sheboygan, Wisconsin
• Video: Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Success Stories

Partnerships to Address Climate Change Panel

• Deputy Mayor Michelle Morin-Doyle, Quebec Metropolitan Community
• Kimberly Hill-Knott, Detroit Climate Action Collaborative
• Cindy Toth, Town of Oakville, Ontario
• Roger Lachance, City of Montreal, Quebec

Special Presentation: Sustainable Municipal Water Management in Montreal, Burough Mayor Chantal Rouleau

Intergovernmental Partnerships Panel

• Mayor Denis Lapointe, Salaberry-de-Valleyfield

Special Presentation: NASA-DEVELOP Program

• Jenna Williams, NASA-DEVELOP

Click here for webinar slide deck.

View recording of webinar below:

Click here for webinar slide deck.

View recording of webinar below:

Playlist: All 2016 Keynotes and Panels

Panel 1: Safe Drinking Water in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Basin

• Tom Neltner, Environmental Defense Fund
• Chantal Morissette, City of Montréal
• Paul Froese, Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change Ontario

Special Presentation: Climate Change and Coral Reefs, Doon McColl, Churchill Fellow

Panel 2: Climate Change Adaptation, Mitigation and Innovation

• Megan Meaney, ICLEI Canada
• Paul J. Spicer, WEC Energy Group
• Fernando Carou, City of Toronto

Panel 3: Lake Erie Algae Updates, Programs and Impacts on Municipalities

• Karl Gebhardt, Ohio Environmental Protection Agency
• Don McCabe, Ontario Federation of Agriculture
• Molly Flanagan, Alliance for the Great Lakes

Panel 4: Municipal Green Urbanism and Sustainability Initiatives

• Jill Jedlicka, Buffalo Niagara Riverkeeper
• Councillor Jim Tovey, City of Mississauga
• Deputy Mayor Michelle Morin-Doyle, Québec Metropolitan Community

Special Presentation: NASA-DEVELOP Program

Great Lakes Ecological Forecasting – Phragmites Habitat: Sean McCartney, NASA Develop National Program

Panel 5: Control Solutions for Phragmites

• Dr. Janice Gilbert, Ontario Phragmites Working Group
• Nancy Vidler, Lambton Shores Phragmites Community Group
• Heather Braun, Great Lakes Commission/Great Lakes Phragmites Collaborative

• Introduction to Integrated Water Management (March 18th, 2015)
  • John Jackson, Greater Lakes Project
  • Bill Christiansen, AWE
  • Jim Ridgway, ECT

• Discussion on Integrated Water Management(April 1st, 2015)
  • John Jackson, Greater Lakes Project
  • Melissa Soline, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative

•  Making the Most out of Floodplain Buyouts (September 16th, 2015 – recording not available)
  • Rebecca Kihslinger, Environmental Law Institute
  • David Salvesen, University of North Carolina

• Advancing Integrated Water Management (October 14th, 2015)
  • John Jackson, Greater Lakes Project
  • Jim Ridgway, ECT Inc.
  • Becky Pearson, Great Lakes Commission

Panels

Nutrient Action Collaborative: Solutions to Protect Drinking Water

• Dr. Harvey Bootsma (University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee)
• Mayor Jim Ginn (Central Huron, ON)
• Bill Creal (Michigan Department of Environmental Quality)
• Elin Betanzo (Northeast-Midwest Institute)
• Recording: Nutrients Panel

Oil Transportation in the Great Lakes Region

• Recording: Oil Transportation
• Patrick Smyth (Vice President for Safety, Canadian Energy Pipeline Association)
• Normand Pellerin (Canadian National Railways)
• Robert Lewis-Manning (President, Canadian Shipowners Association)

Shoreline Restoration and Economic Activity: Challenges and Opportunities

• Recording: Shoreline Restoration
• Andre Morin (City Engineer, City of Sarnia, ON)
• Mayor Chantal Rouleau (Borough of Rivière-des-Prairies Pointe-aux-Trembles, City of Montreal)
• Mayor Mike Vandersteen (City of Sheboygan, WI)

Cities Initiative in the Community: Pilot Projects

• Recording: Pilot Projects
• Gary, Indiana: Sensitive Sites and Infrastructure Protocol (Brenda Scott-Henry, Director of Green Urbanism, City of Gary)
• Hamilton, Ontario: RBC Blue Water Project (Dr. Nahed Ghbn, Senior Project Manager, City of Hamilton)
• Thunder Bay, Ontario: RBC Blue Water Project (Brad Doff, Sustainability Coordinator, City of Thunder Bay)

Cities Initiative in the Community: Student Project Presentations

• Recording: Student Project Presentations
• NASA DEVELOP Program: Georgian Bay Wetland Mapping (Emily Adams, Project Leader, NASA-DEVELOP)
• University of Michigan: Climate Ready Cities (Alexandra Brewer and Samuel Molnar, Climate Ready Cities Team, University of Michigan)

Presentations

• Dr. John Hartig: Refuge Manager, Detroit International Wildlife Refuge
• Blue Economy Presentation: Tim Eder and Stephen Cole, Great Lakes Commission 
• Lynn Rosales, Aamjiwnaang First Nation (Recording Only)
• Douglas George, Consul General of Canada in Detroit (Recording Only)
• Highland Park, Illinois: 2014 Wege Award Recipient (Dr. Mark Nolan-Hill)

• Climate Adaption in Thunder Bay: by Nicola Crawhall
• NASA DEVELOP National Program: by Jamie Favors
• Great Lakes Plastic Pollution: by Dr. Sherri “Sam” Mason
• Harmful and Nuisance Algal Blooms in Lake Erie: by Michael Goffin
• Municipal Adaptation and Resiliency – Cities at the Forefront: by Heather Stirratt
• Municipal Adaptation and Resiliency Service
• Oil Transportation Risks and Emergency Response Problems: by Ali Asgary
• Pipeline Performance Building Trust and Raising the Bar: by Jim Donihee
• Pipelines and Oil Transportation in the Great Lakes: by the National Wildlife Federation
• Predicting Weather: by Amy Freeze
• Prehistory of the Great Lakes Region: by Ross
• Preparing the Great Lakes Region for Impacts of Climate Change: by Joel Scheraga
• Sustainable Municipal Water Management Public Reporting: by Tom Barrett
• There Goes the Neighborhood Recent History of the Upper Great Lakes: by Dr. Scott Hamilton
• Toward Sustainable Municipal Water Management: City of Montreal’s Report (English)

• Building Sustainable Economies: by Dennis West
• Climate Change Challenges Sustainable Energy Strategies: by Rich Vander Veen
• Climate Change Impacts on the Great Lakes St. Lawrence Region: by John Lenters
• Superior Watershed Partnership and Land Trust – Community Environmental Monitoring Program: by Jerry Maynard
• Mining and Great Lakes Communities: by Mike Ripely
• Mining in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Region: by Steve Kesler
• Quebec Mayors Take Action: by Michelle Morin-Doyle
• Rio Tinto’s Eagle Mine: by Johnson
• Shoreline Mayors Take Action Low Water Levels: by Sandra Cooper
• Superior Watershed Partnership Land Trust: by Carl Lindquist
• Taking Action in Huron County Ontario Water Quality: by Mayor Deb Shewfelt
• The Economy and Sustainable Water: by Plastrik
• Thunder Bay Flood Disaster: Mayor Keith Hobbs

• Green Marine a Model for Collaboration: by David Bolduc (English) and Green Marine a Model for Collaboration (French)
• Auditing the Aquaresponsibility of a Municipality: by Peter Vanrolleghem
• International Joint Commission Presentation: by Commissioner Dereth Glance
• Lake Erie re-Eutrophication: by Don Scavia
• Port of Quebec Looking Towards the Future (English): by Mario Girard and Port of Quebec Looking Towards the Future (French)
• Shoreline Communities and Marine Activities (French): by Nicole Trepanier and Shoreline Communities and the Marine Activities Challenges and Opportunities (English)
• Smarter Planet Smarter Cities: by Jean Francois Barsoum
• St. Lawrence Action Plan (English): by Larochelle Morel and St. Lawrence Action Plan (French)

• Canadian Readiness and Response to Oil Spills from Vessels: Scott Vaughan and Jim McKenzie
• Assessing Climate Change Risk to Stormwater and Wastewater Infrastructure: by Ben Harding and Peter Nimmrichter
• Green Returns on Blue Investments, Investment in the Grand River: by Mayor George Heartwell
• Integration of DNA Diagnostics to Improve Water Quality: by Herb Schellhorn
• Marcellus Shale Gas Overview: by Kelly Burch
• Marine Prevention, Preparedness and Response Federal Mandates Canada: by Wade Spurrell
• Niagara 10 Cross Border Cities in Action
• Opportunities to Promote Innovative Stormwater Management: by Bulman
• Shale Gas – the Quebec Situation: by Normand Mosseau
• State of the Great Lakes Coasts: by John Marsden
• Talisman Shale Gas Overview: Hope Deveau-Henderson

• Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Tourism – Expanding the Territory: David Belgue
• Asian Carp Control in the Great Lakes: John Rogner
• Experiences from Union of Baltic Cities: by Jarkko Virtanen
• Canada Ontario Agreement: by Mayor Brian McMullan
• Elements of an Invasive Species Strategy: by John Carey
• Protecting and Restoring the Waters Montreal: by Helen Fotopulos
• Working Together to Improve Beaches and Coasts: by Mayor John Dickert
• Waterfront Trail Ontario: by Marlaine Koehler

Frozen Pipes Teleconference: Thursday, May 27th, 2015

• Kerri Marshall, City of Thunder Bay, and Paul Clements, City of Toronto, provided information about how their cities responded to the increase in calls about frozen water pipes during Winter 2015. A discussion among attendees followed.
• Presentations begin at 5:22

Additional Frozen Pipes Resources:

• Region of Peel
• City of Toronto

• Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products Webinar
  • Helen Domske, NY Sea Grant
  • Mari Martz, Pennsylvania Sea Grant
  • Robin Goettel, Terri Hallesy, Laura Kammin, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
• Pharmaceuticals Education Program
  • Robin Goettel, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
  • Terri Hallesy, Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
• Creating Partnerships for Protecting Our Water Sources, Wildlife and Public Health
  • Anna McCartney, Pennsylvania Sea Grant

• Our Current Revenue Loss Dilemma: Is Consumer Conservation Really the Culprit?  (April 30, 2013)
  • Mary Ann Dickinson, Great Lakes St. Lawrence Cities Initiative

• Green Infrastructure for Great Cities: Urban Surfaces and Stormwater Green CiTTS Webinar (January 25, 2011)
  • Mayor Richard Daley, City of Chicago
  • Janet Attarian, Project Director Streetscape and Sustainable Design Program
• Environmental Issues Associated with the Use of Coal-Tar Based Sealants: A Minnesota Perspective (January 25, 2011)
  • Judy Crane, Environmental Analysis and Outcomes Division Minnesota Pollution Control Agency St. Paul, MN
  • Checklist for Municipalities to Develop Restrictions on Coal-Tar Based Sealcoat
• Redeveloping Vacant Land as Green Infrastructure in Great Lakes Cities
  • Geri Unger, Director of Education and Research Cleveland Botanical Garden
  • Sandra Albro, Research Manager Cleveland Botanical Garden
• The Value of Green Infrastructure
  • Hal Sprague, Senior Policy Associate Natural Resources, Center for Neighborhood Technology
• Stormwater Management in the Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Basin: Cities Charting the Water Forward (November 9, 2011)
  • Nicola Crawhall, Great Lakes and St. Lawrence Cities Initiative
• City of Grand Rapids Grand River Water Quality Monitoring (November 9, 2011)
  • Carrie Rivette

• MARS Training Overview
• Module 1: Climate Change and Adaptation in the Great Lakes (January 22, 2014)
• Moving Climate Change Forward: Key Lessons from the Great Lakes Adaptation Assessment for Cities (November 5, 2014)
  • Ashlee Grace, Project Manager, Great Lakes Adaptation Assessment for Cities
• Module 1B: Climate Adaptation Fundamentals and Models
• Module 2: Legal and Financial Implications of Climate Change (February 6, 2014)
• Potential Claims Against Municipalities Associated with Climate Change (November 19, 2014)
  • Jennifer M. Klein, Associate Director and Fellow, Sabin Center for Climate Change Law – Columbia Law School
• Social Vulnerability Index (December 3, 2014)
  • Dr. Susan Cutter, Department of Geography, University of South Carolina
• Module 4: Social Vulnerability
• Module 5: Water Systems
• Adaptation for Water, Wastewater and Stormwater
  • Karen L. Sands, AICP, Manager of Sustainability Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District
• Towards Extreme Weather Resilience: Working with the Electrical Sector (February 11, 2015)
  • David MacLeod, City of Toronto Environment and Energy Division
• Module 6: Infrastructure Networks
• Beyond the Storm: Risk Based Process and Tool to Enable Better Understanding and Management of Climate Change Risks
  • Vesna Stevanovic-Briatico, City of Toronto Transportation Services Division
• Module 7: Ports and Shoreline Management
• Coastal Climate Adaptation Planning: Case Studies and Tools for Great Lakes Communities (March 11, 2015)
  • Katie Kahl, PhD, The Nature Conservancy
• Module 1: Introduction to Climate Change Adaptation
• Module 2: Using the MARS Portal
• Module 3: Legal/Financial Implications of Climate Change
• Module 3: Responsibilities and Risk Management in a Changing Climate
  • Laura Zizzo, Zizzo Allan
• Module 4: Municipal Transportation Related Infrastructure
  • Kevin Behan
• Module 4: Municipal Transportation Related Infrastructure (February 20, 2014)
  • David MacLeod, City of Toronto Environment and Energy Division
• Module 5: Municipal Buildings and Land Use Planning
• Module 6: Vulnerable Populations
• Module 7: Urban Natural Systems
• Module 8: Wastewater Stormwater Infrastructure
• Module 9: Communicating and Collaborating around Climate Change Adaptation
• Ma Ville Ma Vie Alliance Ville et Grands Lacs