WC145 NovDec 2025 - Magazine - Page 20
FLOOD MITIGATION
tion Project, which will modify creek channels, construct a new
flood protection wall, add replacements to bridges, and upgrade
local sewer systems and roads. Beyond this, the Ontario–Toronto
“New Deal” outlines at least $2 billion in financial relief for the
city, including $200 million for the Port Lands/Broadview-Eastern flood-protection work.
City staff are exploring a stormwater charge to fund resilience
measures, but public opinion is divided. A 2025 background
report found 36 per cent support and 47 per cent opposition
among homeowners.
Toronto has invested heavily in stormwater management systems, including real-time monitoring and control technologies.
A growing network of sensors across sewers and storage tanks can
track rainfall, water levels and system capacity in real time. This
enables engineers to redirect stormwater where capacity is available, thereby reducing combined sewer overflows and optimizing
treatment and storage facilities.
“Predicting rainfall is interesting, but what you need is ways
to manipulate your system and control your system through
real-time controls,” says Eleanor McAteer, Director of water infrastructure management from Toronto Water, underscoring the
value of the city’s real-time control networks in directing flow,
managing capacity and improving environmental outcomes.
While Toronto’s systems are advanced, they are primarily
designed to respond to rainfall events as they happen, rather
than fully anticipate where flooding may occur. However, the
city is actively integrating predictive tools with its real-time data
through a city-wide master model. This approach aims to im-
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WATER C AN ADA • NOV EMBER/ DECEMBER 2025
From maps to action
Climate change has catalyzed extreme weather, but decades of
urbanization and the loss of natural buffers have left several
Canadian cities especially exposed to flooding.
Meanwhile, municipalities are taking proactive steps.
Surrey, B.C., has implemented the award-winning Coastal
Flood Adaptation Strategy (CFAS), combining nature-based
and engineered projects. Among these is the Mud Bay living
dyke pilot, funded in part by more than $76 million from the
federal Disaster Mitigation and Adaptation Fund.
Coquitlam, while not covered under a CFAS, is also advancing its own flood-mitigation initiatives. In 2023, the city
received over $4.4 million in federal funding to relocate and
raise Cedar Drive and construct a drainage channel alongside
Partington Creek. In 2024, the city partnered with the Kwikwetlem First Nation to strengthen riverine protections along
the Coquitlam–Fraser confluence, a flood-prone area near the
city’s rivers.
Calgary, meanwhile, has run an annual flood readiness
campaign every spring since 2013.
Sandy Davis, a river engineering leader with the City of
Calgary, said the campaign includes “annual open houses,
community presentations, booths at community events, signage in communities, social media ads, a weekly e-newsletter
and daily web updates about river conditions.”
She added that these combined efforts have significantly
boosted public awareness: “Many individuals and community
groups are well versed in flood risk and resilience, and are active
advocates for flood resilience in their communities.”
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
“Predictive昀氀oodmappingdoesn’tjustwarn
residents;italsoshapesinfrastructureplanning.”
prove planning and prioritization, helping engineers identify
critical infrastructure upgrades and prepare for future storm
scenarios.
Although it’s important to note that while predictive flood
mapping provides valuable insights, it cannot account for
every variable, especially in the face of extreme weather events
that surpass historical data and modelling assumptions. As
climate change leads to more frequent and intense storms,
even the best-prepared cities may face challenges in preventing
all instances of flooding.
By combining real-time stormwater management with
predictive flood mapping, Toronto is taking a proactive, evidence-based approach to flood resilience, shifting from reactive
damage control to informed risk prevention.
In comparison, other municipalities such as Surrey, Calgary and Coquitlam have also adopted predictive approaches,
integrating real-time hydrometric data and sensor networks to
provide early warnings and facilitate timely interventions during
major rainfall events. These examples illustrate different strategies rather than a hierarchy of effectiveness, highlighting opportunities for knowledge sharing and collaboration across cities.
