Urban Stormwater Infrastructure Innovations for Enhancing Adaptation

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Urban stormwater is a major source of flood water and pollutants in Canadian waterways. Nature-based solutions like "Low Impact Development" options and "Green Infrastructure", are becoming more and more popular for managing stormwater sustainably and creating landscapes more resilient to future disasters. A nature-based solution is one that mimics natural surfaces to absorb the water and thereby reducing flooding and treat pollution within the landscape. Examples of nature-based solutions include rain gardens, green roofs and permeable pavements that allow water to drain through the surface. Despite the many benefits to nature-based solutions for creating a sustainable future, numerous barriers exist to their widespread use over large areas. There is a lack of information that plagues effective designs of nature-based solutions in isolation, let alone designing a system of many working together over large areas. This in part because the research supporting these solutions is applicable only over very small areas and over short periods of time. Hence, there is little trust from stakeholders in the widespread use of this innovative infrastructure. This research will work towards advancing the use of catchment-wide nature-based solutions by seeking to answer three questions: How does the flooding and pollutant treatment provided by these interact and change over time and space? Can the wealth of small-scale research be "scaled-up" for much larger areas? What are the optimal tools for implementing catchment scale systems of nature-based solutions? The objectives of this research are to: (i) resolve fundamental knowledge gaps in the relationship between water quality and water quantity treatment in rain gardens, grassy swales and permeable pavements; (ii) develop models and mathematical expressions that will allow us to use information obtained at the small scale to much larger scales and for multiple, integrated nature-based solutions for use over long periods of time; and (iii) develop optimal tools for decision makers that include easy to use metrics of performance, and reasonable estimates of uncertainty. With these tools, operators and other users can test a variety of configurations and developments for enhancing future environments. These objectives will be achieved through laboratory work, field work and modelling that works collectively and iteratively to advance the right knowledge for wide-scale use and effective landuse planning in a wide variety of climates. The impacts of this research will include significant reductions in annual costs associated with stormwater flooding and pollution in the environment. Users will now have a tool that allows effective planning of future development in various climate possibilities and will expand their ability to design future landscapes that can actually enhance the health of the environment and its inhabitants.