Temporal Behavior of Low Impact Development Practices in Managing Stormwater

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Managing stormwater in both quantity and quality is important for sustaining societal functions and healthy ecosystems as stormwater could lead to detrimental effects, such as flooding and water quality degradation in natural water bodies. Urban stormwater has been managed conventionally by the stormwater drainage system and/or the end-of-pipe facility (e.g., stormwater pond). However, the conventional management has been shown inadequate and less effective due to rapid urbanization as well as climate change. Recently, many cities in Canada and beyond have tended to implement Low Impact Development practices (LIDs) including green roofs, bioretention systems, permeable pavements, etc., which are small-scale, flexible, economical, and environmental friendly, to supplement the conventional stormwater management system. In particular, LIDs have been considered as no-regret practices for adapting to climate change, as they are beneficial irrespective of the uncertain future climate. Yet, there are still several barriers to clear before widely implementing them in managing urban stormwater in the face of climate change. These barriers include the lack of knowledge on their long-term performance, and changes in their performance and the associated uncertainty in a changing climate. Accordingly, improved knowledge on LIDs and climate change, and enhanced modeling tools for assessing climate change impacts on LIDs over the time horizon are much desired by engineering practitioners and policy-makers at all levels of government.    Therefore, this proposed program consists of three major components: (1) providing evidence-based knowledge on the long-term performance of LIDs through monitoring and assessment, and developing a model for predicting their long-term performance, (2) advancing knowledge on the temporal evolution and uncertainty of climate projections and in turn improving the statistical downscaling of climate variables for any climate change impact research at the urban scale, and (3) investigating the climate change impacts on LID performance over the time horizon. The expected outcomes of this program will fill the knowledge gaps in LIDs, provide new insights into their implementation, and in turn enhance urban stormwater management in a changing climate.    In addition, this program will create HQP training opportunities in a vibrant training environment that respects equity, diversity and inclusion. The trainees will be equipped with academic knowledge, technical skills and other professional skills (e.g., communication and presentation) required by their future career. Since the emergence of LIDs in the 1990s, more and more HQPs with these competencies are needed due to the increasing applications of LIDs in urban stormwater management systems. Therefore, this program will bring both industry-relevant skills and economic benefits to all levels of Canadian government, industry, the general public, and beyond.