001-40 WC 139 NOV-DEC24 PAPERTURN - Flipbook - Page 12
FEATURE
To help preserve the quality and long-term sustainability of the Taoyuan
City watershed in Taipei, Stantec adapted the layout and biodiversity of the
constructed wetland ponds in the drainage area.
Examples of hybrid solutions the study shares include the use
of green-grey solutions in which “constructed wetlands are followed by an advanced oxidation process” whereby grey technologies are applied at the second stage to remove pathogens; or such
grey-green applications that involve “green technologies used at a
second stage to break down slowly biodegradable substances that
have not been completely removed by grey technologies.”
When what was old is new again
For the likes of Stantec’s Amanda Ludlow (Principal), the use of
green solutions is nothing new. As she confided in an interview
with Water Canada “nature-based solutions are near and dear
to my heart. I got my start working with treatment wetlands in
1995. And from a Stantec standpoint, we’ve been using nature-based solutions from an ecosystems services standpoint for
over three decades.”
While nature based solutions have been overshadowed by
grey wastewater solutions over those years, lately she says, “the
spotlight” is now on NBS due to “climate change and the need
to build resilience into our systems.” Other drivers Ludlow cites
include emerging regulatory requirements tied to carbon mitigation and offsets. In Canada for example, there’s the Greenhouse
Gas Offset Credit System, which encourages municipalities,
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foresters, farmers and project developers to undertake innovative initiatives to offset GHGs compared to usual business
practices.
Yet another new development has been the creation of what
is known as the Biodiversity Credit Alliance (BCA). Launched
in the wake of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD
COP15) in Montreal in 2022, BCA in partnership with the
United Nations Development Program is spearheading the
creation of a biodiversity credit market in support of global
biodiversity priorities and goals.
Ludlow says in the UK and EU biodiversity crediting is
driving the use of nature-based solutions. It’s not unreasonable
to assume that in the coming years countries on this side of
the Atlantic will follow suit. Specific to Europe she says, “the
pressure of using green infrastructure for long-term sustainable
solutions is what’s driving funding to then invest in technology
innovation and its application.”
Green helping grey to handle water
A prime example of that type of green infrastructure working
in support of existing grey is the South Elmsall Sewage Treatment Works; an integrated constructed wetland project Stantec
has designed for Yorkshire Water near the City of Wakefield.
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
