WC148 MayJune 2026 - Magazine - Page 26
STORMWATER
This could include replacing parts of gray infrastructure (e.g.,
gutters, pipes, and tunnels) with green infrastructure systems (e.g.,
bioswales, rain gardens and permeable pavements) that mimic natural hydrology, filter and absorb stormwater where it falls, and offer
environmental, social and economic benefits.
It could also mean utilizing plastic drainage pipes made from
recycled single-use plastics. There is a variety of durable plastic
pipe products available on the market that meet and exceed
existing municipal requirements and can be quickly adopted into
project specifications. This will offer a smaller carbon footprint
and a lower life-cycle cost to the municipality over the product’s
100-year service life.
4. Engage early in the design phase
Taking a more evolved approach to stormwater management
requires engaging with the stormwater management solution
provider early in the project. Providers who have experts on hand
can help identify design requirements and create a site-specific
solution. This includes not only regulations and building codes,
but also site constraints, preferences of communities, soil characteristics, pollutant load, water flow and area rainfall.
Engaging the supplier in the pre-planning phase can provide
a valuable opportunity to explore new options and technologies
that are available. Many of these technologies can provide easier
or lower-cost operation and maintenance than traditional storm-
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WATER C AN ADA • M AY/JUNE 2026
5. Talk with peers
When it comes to stormwater management projects, one of the most effective
best practices for municipal leaders is
learning directly from peers. Talking with leaders from other
municipalities who have already planned, funded, and implemented similar projects provides practical insight that cannot
be fully captured in reports, design standards or consultant
presentations alone.
Hearing firsthand accounts from other municipalities that
have installed these types of systems can provide clarity on
installation practices, maintenance requirements, durability
under local conditions and regulatory acceptance. These conversations help provide proven approaches that can be adapted,
as well as an invaluable understanding of how the material
performs in daily operation and during major storm events.
It is also important to trust established, impartial standard
organizations, such as the Environmental Technology Verification (ETV) program and the CSA/ASTM standards councils.
These organizations provide rigorous testing protocols to
ensure technology meets its stated claims. Any technology
certified by these groups can be trusted to provide publicly
available results, which can save time and money for individual
municipalities to test and verify each new product available in
the market.
Peers and standard organizations can be especially vital
when considering the usage and approval of alternative material like plastic drainage pipe made from recycled single-use
plastics, or underground stormwater management systems.
WAT E R C A N A D A . N E T
Getty Images
The increased intensity of today’s storms are
producing higher volumes of stormwater, and
Canadian municipalities need to evolve how they
approach the management of stormwater runo昀昀.
water management systems. Earlier
selection can also help eliminate costly
instances where changes or different
solutions need to be shoehorned into a
project after the majority of the design
has been completed.
Some stormwater solutions providers
have state-of-the-art hydraulics labs
designed to replicate real-world stormwater conditions. By enabling several
variables to be changed and scenarios
to be enacted, these labs offer a “what
if ” ability that is often not enjoyed with
projects in the field. Questions like
“What if we did this?” What if we use
this configuration or solution instead?”
and “What if we experience this type of
event? What does that look like?” can
be explored and answered by modelling
various scenarios.
