Stormwater ManagementA Municipal Perspective

Water and Cities Breakout SessionCanadian Water Summit

June 14, 2011

John Nemeth, Manager of Water Resources Design, Construction and Water Resources Division

Environment and Infrastructure ServicesTown of Richmond Hill

Why are we here?

• Approximately 50% of homeowner claims are due to water damage

• Upgrading Canada’s infrastructure is estimated to cost 80-90 billion

• Municipalities are attempting to deal with water pricing, infrastructure, watershed planning and water treatment

Source: Infrastructure Canada

About Richmond Hill

Richmond Hill is nestled in the middle of the Greater Toronto Area, within the boundaries of York Region

Over half of Richmond Hill is located on the Oak Ridges Moraine, an important ecological feature of Southern Ontario

Richmond Hill SWM Collaborative• National Benchmarking Initiative

– 46 major municipalities across Canada (26 for SWM)– Program advisor to AECOM Vancouver (since 2002)

• Southern Ontario– Municipal Stormwater Discussion Group (Chair)

• 45 Municipalities across Southern Ontario• Quarterly meetings since 2006

• Lower Tier Municipality• Development Charge Bylaws • 325 Subdivision Agreements• 20 MESP’s

Introduction of Stormwater Management• The practice of applying Stormwater

Practices started in the 1980s

• State of the Art technology has been changed six times over the past 30 years

• A 10 Year Stormwater Management Capital Program was created to update the Town of Richmond Hill’s stormwater management facilities

Online Weir

Online Quantity

Quantity/Quality

Provincial Interest• Places to Grow Act, 2005• Provincial Policy Statement, 2005• Oak Ridges Moraine Act • Greenbelt Act, 2005 • Oak Ridges Moraine Conservation Act, 2001• Clean Water Act• Ontario Water Resources Act, 2007• Stormwater Management Planning and Design Manual, 2003

Water Opportunities Act– The act will help municipalities improve the efficiency of

municipal infrastructure and services by:• Identifying innovative, cost effective solutions to solve water

challenges • Optimizing systems and improving water conservation • Identifying opportunities to demonstrate and implement new

and emerging Ontario water technologies, services and practices.

Source: MOE, 2011

Provincial Interest

Showcasing Water Innovation Funding Program deadline to apply is June 24, 2011

Regional Watershed Planning Direction

• Regional municipalities are providing support and direction with regard to stormwater management planning and environmental protection– Region of York

• Official Plan • Road Department Project Management

– Region of Peel • Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Planning • Sustainability Plans • Green Development Standards

Watershed Protection

Using a watershed management approach in water resources will

allow for consideration of water balance, aquatic

species, vegetation, flooding and erosion

Integrating Stormwater Management into Municipal Programs

• Town of Richmond Hill– 10 Year Stormwater Management Capital Program

• City of Toronto – Wet Weather Flow Master Plan

• Town of Markham– Small Streams Study

• Stormwater Management Master Plans in various municipalities

Stormwater Management Facility Priority Rating System - Evaluation Criteria-SRW.06.09

VALUE*Flood Protection 25%Statutory and Regulatory Requirements 20%Risk Management / Health and Safety Issues 15%Operations and Maintenance Considerations 15%Cost Benefit Analysis 5%Erosion Control and Slope Stabilization 5%Spills Management 5%Environmental Issues 5%Community Concerns 5%

SWM Facility Priorities

*Denotes priority rating of each criteria

Major Rehabilitation

Ten Year SWM Capital Program

Current Capital Projects

Pioneer Park: Complete

Don Head West: Construction 2011

Rumble: Design 2011

Harding Park East: Feasibility 2011

Example of Rehabilitation Project: Pioneer Park SWMF

• Pioneer Park SWMF rehabilitation was the first major stormwater capital project by the Town

History of Pioneer Park SWM • Originally built in 1980’s.• Dry, on-line stormwater quantity control facility for 26 ha of residential

development. • Original control structure was an online dam, with inappropriate

volume control being provided.• Over time, failure of the dam outlet structure (blockages) created a

backwater condition.• Backwater condition resulted in the creation of wetland conditions

including the collection of sediment and increased water temperature.

• Pioneer Park provides a SWM Master Plan for the Watershed– Increase in serviced tributary area

from 26 Ha to 740 Ha.

SWMF Rehab Using a Watershed Perspective

• Traditional stormwater ponds were designed to accommodate storm drainage in the immediate area and did not account for various factors– Impacts of fisheries– Cumulative drainage of the watershed– Climate change

Designing the New Pioneer Park SWMF Introduction of Hydraulic Performance Optimization Introduction of Operations and Maintenance efficiency Comprehensive SWM master planning for a 740 ha area of existing

community Flood protection up to 100-year return storm was incorporated Potential impacts to climate change were considered in the design

Off-line wet pond quantity, quality control, erosion protection, temperature mitigation and fisheries habitat

creation Re-creation of fish passage and fish habitat

SWM facility by pass channel natural channel design

December 2, 2009

September 21, 2010July 21, 2010

June 21, 2010April 1, 2010

2010 Technical Innovation Award

Snow Storage Facility Concept

Stored snow

Inlet

Curb

Oil & grit separator

Sediment forebayPond

Outlet

Three Passive SWM Practices

February 22, 2008 March 28, 2008

April 3, 2008 April 23, 2008

2007 OPWA Technical Innovation Award

Issues in Ontario

• Ontario is faced with increasinggreen field development and urbanintensification, aging infrastructure,climate uncertainties and impacted water courses

• A paradigm shift from end-of-pipe control to a water balance approach using low impact development controls is underway

• Sustainability• Climate Change • LID – Low Impact Development

– Permeable pavements – Bioretention– Dry swales– Rainwater harvesting– Infiltration trenches– Green roofs (LEED designated)

• Environmental integration planning• Watershed based planning

Future of Stormwater Management and Watershed Planning

Low Impact Development (LID)• Definition:

– a stormwater management strategy that seeks to mitigate the impacts of increased runoff and stormwater pollution

– LID practices promote the use of natural systems for infiltration, evapotranspiration, and reuse of rainwater

– effectively remove nutrients, pathogens and metals from stormwater– reduce the volume and intensity of stormwater flows– Goal is to replicate pre-development site hydrology

Source: TRCA CVC November 2008

LID Stormwater Management Practices

PRACTICES INCLUDED IN LID STRATEGIES:

– Conservation Designs– Infiltration Practices– Runoff Storage– Runoff Conveyance– Filtration Practices– Low Impact Landscaping

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES:

– Green Roofs– Bioretention– Permeable pavement– Soakaway pits– Grass channels– Dry swales– Tree clustering– Rainwater harvesting

Sustainability Guidelines for Development and Redevelopment• FCM recently announced that Richmond Hill,

Brampton and Vaughan have received a grant to create sustainable community development guidelines that will aid the development decision making process

• Metrics will be created that will ensure performance levels are feasible and that municipalities are seeing an increase in municipal wide sustainability

Sustainability in Established Neighbourhoods

• Currently no process is in place to increase sustainability in established neighbourhoods

• Resident buy-in is required to increase sustainability • Need to understand barriers residents face to implement LID

and sustainable practices on their property and in their home• Toronto and Region Conservation Authority along with

municipal partners are piloting a Sustainable Neighbourhood Retrofit Action Plan (SNAP) programs in Richmond Hill, Toronto and Brampton

SNAP Program

Program currently being established to “identify ways to accelerate the transformation of existing communities to urban sustainability and increase their contributions to climate change, mitigation and adaptation.” (TRCA, 2009)

– Part of the program will focus on sustainable SW controls that can be implemented into a community

Implementation Challenges

• Public acceptance• Funding – design and construction• Funding – O&M• Complying with official and strategic

plans• Environmental benefits and impacts

Future Practices

Current PracticesWho PAYS for LID?

"The first barrier to the contamination of drinking water

involves protecting the sources of drinking water."

- Justice Dennis O'Connor, Walkerton Inquiry 2002

Climate Change• Is resulting in more frequent

localized intense storms in Ontario e.g. the Vaughan storm in Aug. 2009

• Will affect infrastructure and its ability to perform

• Can cause increased flooding and erosion, therefore having an impact on water quality

mynews.ctv.ca

mynews.ctv.ca

Adapting to Climate Change• National Benchmarking Initiative

– Program based framework• Clean Air Partnership Adaptation Training

– Process based review– Tools and reference

• Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC)– Project specific risk assessment

IDF Curves

• SWM infrastructure generally receives low priority for maintenance and rehabilitation– Could be a liability for municipalities if SW facilities fail

during an extreme storm event resulting in flooding

• Change in hydrological regime requires updating IDF curves– Example: Buttonville Airport IDF graph based on rain gauge data

from 1986 to 1997– There has been a recognizable change in rainfall distribution

and intensity since 1997 and should be included in IDF calculations

But….How do we pay for it all?

• Upgrading Canada’s Infrastructure over the next 10 years is estimated to cost $80-90 billion Source: Infrastructure Canada

• Building LID structures, unknown O&M commitments• SWM infrastructure generally receives low priority for

maintenance and rehabilitation• Watershed protection/improvement projects

Stormwater Financing

• Typically, annual stormwater budgets compete with other vital Town services for financing.

• Relatively new and evolving stormwater legislation and regulations and design standards BUT no new provincial or federal funding sources to meet new stormwater requirements

• Stormwater Financing: provides self-supporting and dedicated funding source for stormwater management

Common Stormwater Financing Methodologies

• Flat Rate• Runoff Coefficient • Intensity of Development Factor• Residential Flat Rate

– Equivalent Residential Unit (ERU) – Single Family Unit (SFU)

• Tiered Residential Rate• Level-of-Service / Geography Base• Impervious Area Measurements

(all properties, each year)

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• Kitchener and Waterloo in 2011 implemented a tiered flat rate fee based on property type and imperviousness

• Aurora, London and St. Thomas have flat rates for residential, commercial and industrial

• Richmond Hill beginning a financing feasibility study in summer 2011

Stormwater Financing

-photos from Totten Sims Hubicki Associates: Kitchener Record, editorial cartoon (7-Apr-06)

Stormwater Research• Trent University

– Urban Water Biogeochemistry and the Role of Stormwater Management Ponds

• University of Guelph• Ryerson University

– Cumulative Impacts Study– Optimization of SWMF Maintenance

• Environment Canada– SW Phosphorus Removal Study

• Toronto and Region Conservation Authority– Cooling Trench Study– Particle Size Distribution Standards for Oil Grit

Separator Performance Review

Discussion

• Stormwater management has evolved considerably since the 1980’s

• Managing our water resources on a watershed basis, looking at the whole water balance system

• Uncertainties remain with regard to – operations and maintenance of LID infrastructure– current state of existing infrastructure with respect to

climate change– the mechanism to fund stormwater and environmental

projects

Questions?