Canadian Water Network, with support from Insurance Bureau of Canada, undertook a study in 2020 on how to best frame and structure a new Canadian Centre for Climate Information and Analytics (C3IA) so that it will be useful for, and used by, municipal decision makers. Understanding the needs of these decision makers, as well as [...]
This report pertains to a study that was conducted in 2016 and 2017 and focused on riverine flooding, which can occur when extreme rainfall causes rivers to overflow onto surrounding land. Climate change flood risk was assessed in four neighbourhoods in Halifax, Nova Scotia. A two-part flood risk model was used to identify flood-prone areas [...]
The municipal water sector has seen a number of changes over the past five years. This snapshot presents highlights of a detailed 2019 water sector report completed for the Federation of Canadian Municipalities Green Municipal Fund on current water management trends, issues and best practices. The information generated will be used to inform FCM's Green [...]
Large-scale flood risk models used by Canada’s insurance sector currently use low-resolution topographic data as inputs, and also give limited consideration to flood mitigation infrastructure or defense measures that have been implemented by Canadian municipalities. In a comparative study undertaken by Canadian Water Network and the Insurance Bureau of Canada, incorporating higher resolution topographic data [...]
Canadian Water Network convened an expert workshop to update Canada’s conceptual model of nutrient source and transport. The experts’ discussion, as well as the research cited, informed the insights that are presented in this white paper, which has been written to support those who make decisions about nutrient management actions.
Climate change will result in increasing frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events, yet IDF curves currently in use across Canada do not account for these impacts. As a result, infrastructure built today will not be able to accommodate future extreme rainfall conditions, resulting in increased risk of failure. The “Intensity-Duration-Frequency under Climate Change” (IDFCC) [...]
Canadian Water Network's Canadian Municipal Water Consortium (CMWC) takes a deeper look into national priorities in the 2015 Canadian Municipal Water Priorities Report. Last year's inaugural Canadian Municipal Water Priorities report set the stage for the initiatives of the CMWC. The CMWC's Leadership Group (CLG) identified four priority areas within the themes of integrated risk [...]
Canadian communities are facing challenges – due to growth, increasing urbanization, financial constraints, climate change and more. What information do water managers and decision-makers need to keep their cities healthy and safe?
Canadian Water Network’s Municipal Consortium Leadership Group – a proactive group of municipal water leaders from across Canada – have joined [...]
Canadian Water Network, through its Canadian Municipal Water Consortium (CMWC), has been working to identify key municipal water management priorities as defined by those working in the municipal sector. Within those identified priority areas, the CWMC seeks to provide the critical knowledge and research needed to support decisions and, importantly, to clarify the implications of [...]
Conventional ways of managing stormwater runoff are no longer sufficient to deal with increased climatic variability and urban densification and there is clear evidence that the flood risk and urban water pollution is increasing. How can we change the traditional stormwater management system to cope with more frequent and higher flood events?