Winnipeg BIZ highlights the heart of the city - Metro

metronews.ca
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Singing in the rain
Kerry
FreeK
Water Canada
In the natural water cycle,
water seeps into the ground,
evaporates into plants and
the air, and makes its way to
nearby waterways.
But where does rain go
after a storm in the city?
A paved urban landscape
changes the natural process.
Water flows into storm
drains, along the way collecting
the garbage, road salt,
and bacteria that pollutes
our water. Storms can also
cause overflows in sewers
that weren’t built to manage
heavy rain. A 2012 national
infrastructure report card
estimates it would cost $15.8
billion to replace Canada’s
poor stormwater infrastructure.
When sewers overflow,
there’s a greater chance of
flooded basements in homes
and businesses. More frequent
and heavier storms
have made water damage the
leading cause of insurance
claims in Canada. The cost
to taxpayers is steep, too —
every year, billions of dollars
are spent repairing the damage.
“We should all care,
whether we’re property
owners or renters,” says
Christine Zimmer, manager
of protection and restoration
at Credit Valley Conservation
in Ontario.
Zimmer offers these suggestions
to make a differ-
ence:
1
Disconnect your downspout.
“Roof downspouts
are often directly connected
to storm sewers.
Disconnecting
them and
leading the
water to rain
barrels or rain
gardens can help
reduce instances of
basement flooding,”
she says.
2
Make paved areas
as small as possible.
According to the 2013
RBC Canadian Water
Attitudes study, 60 per
cent of 18-34-year-olds
would give up a paved
Focus on urban water
driveway to
help water
management.
3
UW 3
Use less
fertilizer
or
none at
all. Run-off collects
nutrients
from fertilizers,
such as nitrogen and
phosphorus, which
can cause toxic algae
blooms in waterways
and result in a weakened
aquatic ecosystem and more
frequent beach closures.