Codes, Standards and Related Instruments (CSRI) - Vulnerability ...

• Combined (back-to-back) climate events are difficult to predict – and thus to design for,but can have significant consequences on the structural or operational performance ofthe infrastructure. For example, freezing rain followed by winter rain can result insignificant surface run-off.• The temporal and spatial aspects of climate events are important in the design andoperations of water infrastructure and not properly addressed in current CSRI. Forexample, a sustained rain event will have different impacts on the infrastructure when itoccurs at a different time of the year or if it occurs in a specific area more than another.• The types of climate data or information available or used in CSRI do not cover thespectrum of climate events that affect the performance of the infrastructure.• Most current and future climate data deals with precipitation and temperature (asindependent variables)• Design for future climate resilient infrastructure may require additional climatedata or information than currently available or may need specific guidance orstrategies in how certain key assumptions regarding future climate might beconsidered.4.4 Updating historical climate data and future climate predictions• Appendix A presents a list of updates in the climate data considered in the 2010 NBCC.Some data remains as in 2005.• There is uncertainty about how fast the NBCC updated climate data is incorporated intoother regional or local CSRI• The climate science community regularly improves the projections for future climatethrough modelling and producing scenarios. It is not known how information on futureclimate is:• Incorporated into current CSRI at all jurisdictional levels.• How it evolves and is likely to be updated as climate sciences continue todevelop and provide more robust responses.• How users are able to interpret and use the data correctly and what it means interms of choosing a design value (needs to consider parameters such astolerance to risk; costs and benefits; service life of the infrastructure and whichcomponents can be changed more frequently over time; etc.).4.5 Future infrastructure condition• The PIEVC engineering vulnerability assessment protocol considers climateinfrastructureinteractions to assess risks. Although a major component of theFINAL REPORT Page 12 of 22PIEVC CSRI Water Review