Urban Stormwater Infrastructure Innovations for Enhancing Adaptation

城市雨水是加拿大水道中洪水和污染物的主要来源。基于自然的解决方案，如“低影响发展”选项和“绿色基础设施”，在可持续地管理雨水和创造对未来灾难更具弹性的景观方面正变得越来越受欢迎。基于自然的解决方案是一种模仿自然表面来吸收水分的解决方案，从而减少洪水泛滥并处理景观中的污染。基于自然的解决方案的例子包括雨水花园、绿色屋顶和允许水通过表面排水的渗透性人行道。尽管创造可持续未来的基于自然的解决方案有许多好处，但在大范围内广泛使用这些解决方案仍然存在许多障碍。缺乏孤立地困扰基于自然的解决方案的有效设计的信息，更不用说设计一个由多个人在大范围内共同工作的系统。这在一定程度上是因为支持这些解决方案的研究只适用于非常小的区域和很短的时间段。因此，利益相关者对这种创新基础设施的广泛使用几乎没有信任。这项研究将致力于推动全流域基于自然的解决方案的使用，试图回答三个问题：这些解决方案提供的洪水和污染物处理如何随时间和空间相互作用和变化？小规模研究的财富能否被“放大”到更大的领域？实施基于自然的解决方案的集水区尺度系统的最佳工具是什么？这项研究的目的是：(1)解决雨水花园、长满草的沼泽地和透水路面的水质和水量处理之间的基本知识差距；(2)开发模型和数学表达式，使我们能够利用从小规模到更大规模获得的信息，以及长期使用的多种综合自然解决方案；(3)为决策者开发最佳工具，其中包括易于使用的绩效衡量标准和对不确定性的合理估计。有了这些工具，运营商和其他用户可以测试各种配置和开发，以增强未来的环境。这些目标将通过实验室工作、实地工作和建模来实现，这些工作将共同和迭代地促进正确的知识，以便在各种气候条件下广泛使用和有效地进行土地利用规划。这项研究的影响将包括大幅减少与暴雨洪水和环境污染相关的年度成本。用户现在将拥有一种工具，可以在各种气候可能性下有效规划未来的发展，并将扩大他们设计未来景观的能力，实际上可以增强环境及其居民的健康。

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.