WC128 JanFeb2023 - Magazine - Page 13
The Grindstone Creek watershed spans 91 km2 within
Ontario’s Greenbelt and contains the greatest diversity
of wildlife of any Canadian Forest Zone, including
species found nowhere else in the country.
That is why shared assets need shared solutions.
The City of Hamilton is generally upstream from the
City of Burlington, so protection and management of
natural assets in Hamilton may support both cities to
manage stormwater and mitigate flood risk, and Royal Botanical Gardens to manage risks to water quality
and biodiversity at the mouth of Grindstone Creek.
As the sole agencies that operate on a watershed basis,
conservation authorities are responsible for monitoring and developing source water protection plans and
are vital partners for watershed management. The
entire Grindstone Creek watershed falls within the
jurisdiction of Conservation Halton, and they provided key monitoring data to build out the inventory
of Grindstone’s natural assets; the authority will also
own and manage the inventory going forward.
So, what were the results?
Firstly, it must be stated that natural asset management is about far more than assigning a financial
value to their services. Nevertheless, valuations can be
helpful tools to build awareness and inform deciWAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
sion-making when they are situated within a broader
understanding of the importance of nature. Service
values and replacement costs were summarized with a
dollar amount, but that does not negate the incalculable co-benefits of the watershed like health and
intrinsic value of natural heritage and biodiversity.
MNAI’s inventory process indicate that natural
assets in the Grindstone Creek watershed provide
immense benefits and service value that have direct
implications when it comes to the predicted effects of
climate change. In terms of what grey infrastructure
solutions would cost to provide the same service, the
estimated total value for stormwater management is
approximately $2 billion, not including maintenance
or operational costs.
Estimated annual service value of calculable
co-benefits—recreation, soil retention, erosion
control, climate mitigation, habitat and biodiversity,
and atmospheric regulation—is approximately $34
million.
As one of many regions in Canada that are experiencing increased storm severity, the insight gained
from the inventory will help both cities invest in the
watershed as a means of addressing local flood risks.
However, data shows there is no single intervention
that will ensure the watershed would be protected
in the long-term. Ongoing collaboration will be
required to ensure that natural asset data is strengthened and updated to inform the development of
management plans for natural assets in the Grindstone Creek watershed.
Each partner brought substantial, complimentary
expertise to the project. And the role of conservation
authorities, both in providing invaluable data and
watershed governance strategies, cannot be understated. Resilient, cost-effective service delivery hinges
on each local government’s willingness to work with
municipalities, conservation authorities and stewards
upstream.
The Grindstone Creek project represents a new
way forward to address the impacts of climate change
and reduced municipal budgets. The resulting inventory and recommendations by MNAI in the report
provide a case study and framework for watershed
management in Ontario and beyond.
WATER C AN ADA • JANUARY/ FEBRUARY 2023
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