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Spring has arrived in Canada, but for many communities that brings both flowers and flooding. The MNAI team has worked with numerous communities to explore how natural assets can help them address flooding, and one of the most recent projects was with the Northwest Regional Service Commission (CSRNO) in New Brunswick. Over the years, the inland and coastal flooding events there have substantially increased the number of disaster financial assistance programs and the situation has become quite urgent.

“Despite being quite far from major watercourses and experiencing far less development than urban centers, some communities in New Brunswick’s northwest are at risk of inland flooding,” said Adrian (Adje) Prado, Territorial Analyst – Research and Sustainable Development with CSRNO. “With the anticipated increases in precipitation as a result of climate change, we expect this will become even more of a concern over the coming decades. We believe it is essential to integrate natural asset planning into our work to better understand how different types of land-use can affect the region’s resilience, especially in relation to runoff management and other water-related concerns.”

Since natural assets – such as wetlands, green spaces and forests – have proven to be effective in reducing flooding risks, the CSRNO, together with the communities of Saint-André and Drummond, partnered with MNAI and have just completed their first step towards a more comprehensive natural asset program by creating an inventory of their natural assets.

The inventory lists the types of natural assets in the region, the services they’re providing to the communities, their condition, and what risks may exist. Some of the highlights of the inventory indicate:

• The sub-watersheds surrounding the communities comprise significant natural assets – including 36,000 hectares of coniferous forest and 20,000 hectares of deciduous forest. These assets are likely to provide a range of services to the local residents that include carbon storage, stormwater management and water filtration, air purification, improvements to community health, wildlife habitat, recreation, and aesthetic value.
• Much of the study area is rated low permeability. This means it has limited ability to absorb and hence manage flood waters.
• The condition of the assets from a species diversity perspective is either very good or good.

The completion of the inventory is only the first step in the whole asset management cycle. This project also created a roadmap so Saint-André, Drummond and CSRNO can decide what their next step to managing their natural assets and reducing flooding will be.

One option is status quo. The other option is proceeding with a full natural asset management project and implementation, which would include planning, regulatory, financial operations, maintenance, acquisition, and monitoring interventions, with MNAI’s technical support, advice and guidance.

To read the full project report, please click here.

Right now, as the world starts cautiously moving from the emergency response phase of the COVID-19 pandemic to the recovery and rebuilding phases, it’s critical to plan how to build back better. The pandemic has dramatically impacted most local government budgets, but the climate crisis is still barreling ahead and infrastructure is still falling apart. Natural assets can play a key role in helping communities continue delivering core services to their residents and businesses in a cost-effective, climate-resilient and sustainable way, even helping prevent more emergencies from occurring.

CLICK HERE TO VIEW ORIGINAL ARTICLE. 

Communities of Saint-André and Drummond, with the Northwest Regional Service Commission (CSRNO) worked with MNAI between January-April 2020 to develop an inventory of their natural assets, a first step towards their natural asset program.

The report, published by Ontario Parks Association (OPA) and Green Infrastructure Foundation, outline strategies to incorporate green infrastructure into adaptation plans. One of the key findings of the report is that green infrastructure projects can have shorter pay back period while providing greater value.

New Brunswick Environmental Network collaborated with Kingsclear First Nation and Dillon Consulting to create a brochure on their shoreline protection and Indian Brook Enhancement project.

NBEN collaborated with Vision H2O to design and install a panel on their dune restoration project.

NBEN collaborated with Valores for a magazine on natural infrastructure.

Click here to view: valores pdf

This report has been published by Green Infrastructure Ontario Coalition and the Greenbelt Foundation to define the scope of green infrastructure in Ontario, provide assessment of the economic impact of the green infrastructure sector and demonstrate the potential to stimulate economic growth in Ontario from increased investment in green infrastructure.

A study on how green infrastructure is beneficial to storm water management and mosquito control.

City News, March 1, 2020, 4:44 PM EDT

HALIFAX — As Canadian communities brace for rising risks of spring flooding related to climate change, a non-profit group has published findings suggesting preserving wetlands and forests can be key to reducing adaptation costs.

The Municipal Natural Assets Initiative released its second set of results recently on how forests, creeks, wetlands, ponds and other natural features help cities avoid costly infrastructure projects.

The approach has been applied to the New Brunswick communities of Florenceville-Bristol, Riverside-Albert, and Riverview; Oshawa, Ont. and the district of Sparwood and City of Courtenay in British Columbia.

The report dated Feb. 21 estimates savings ranging from $200,000 to $414 million for preserving or improving so-called “natural assets,” with results including improved drainage of stormwater and purification of drinking water.

The initiative was originally pioneered by the Town of Gibsons, B.C. — which conducted the first similar studies — and is funded by the Suzuki Foundation.

One of the areas considered was how conservation helps adapt to flooding.

Last year’s Canada’s Changing Climate Report, a summary of climate science by federal researchers, concluded the effects of widespread warming are becoming evident in many parts of Canada and “are projected to intensify in the future,” including earlier spring peak streamflow and rising sea levels.

The 2019 document also concluded a warmer climate will intensify weather extremes, “while …more intense rainfalls will increase urban flood risks.”

The natural assets report says in Florenceville-Bristol, N.B., protecting 182 hectares of forested area along the St. John River helps avoid costly human-engineered systems that would be required for a one-in-100 year rain storm.

It estimates forest conservation would save the creation of a $3.5 million stormwater management pond system.

In Riverview, N.B., adjacent to Moncton, protecting four wetlands that cover 14,000 square metres in the Mill Creek Watershed would avoid the $2.3 million needed to create stormwater management ponds to handle a 1-in-100 year flood, as predicted under a climate change scenario.

In Oshawa, Oshawa Creek — which drains an area of about 119 square kilometres — and surrounding lands were studied as the key natural system for handling more frequent rain storms.

According to the group protecting seven kilometres of natural area in the watershed, including steps to guard against erosion of  lands around the creek system, would save about $18.9 million that it would cost to build a concrete channel with similar flow rates to handle runoff.

If full protection measures are taken for the entire length of the creek and its surrounding floodplain, the financial benefits increase to $414 million by avoiding construction of alternative, human-made water channels.

The consultant calls for additional study of the water system to fully define ways to help it absorb precipitation.

In Courtney, B.C., the study looked at several potential flooding scenarios from the Courtney River, one based on the 2009 flood conditions and another on a 1-in-200 year storm.

The project identified four options including widening the Courtenay River banks, converting a sawmill site to a natural foreshore, bringing back the river’s natural path and “gradually removing properties from the flood plain and allowing only land uses that are compatible with flooding in the flood plain.”

The study found these measures would not solve the flooding problems, but they would reduce flood damage by between $723,000 and $2.4 million, depending on the extent of the flooding.

Roy Brooke, director of the Municipal Natural Assets Initiative, said in an interview the information being gathered for municipalities can be used for their planning.

“Natural assets are providing vital infrastructure to communities, and the services have a value and often increase over time because they are adaptable in the face of climate change,” he said.

“This becomes information the communities can leverage … to start treating nature for what it is: a vital asset and a core part of any resilient system.”

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on March 1, 2020.

Michael Tutton, The Canadian Press

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The Green Infrastructure Performance Lab, based in Dalhousie University (Nova Scotia) engages in interdisciplinary research focused on analysis and design and planning of landscapes to improve human and ecological well-being.