March 28, 2024
Municipal Information Network

INNOVATIVE STORMWATER MANAGEMENT PILOT
Ducks Unlimited Canada awarded grant to design green infrastructure stormwater system

May 24, 2019

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) has received a grant from Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation to partner with a developer and municipality to design a fully functional naturalized stormwater management pond (SWMP) for a new development within the Greenbelt region. The naturalized SWMP will incorporate wetland features that will enable it to demonstrate the value of natural infrastructure.

DUC is seeking expressions of interest from developers and municipalities, in or adjacent to Ontario's Greenbelt. DUC will work with a developer to advance a comprehensive blueprint for a naturalized SWMP site plan, fully in compliance with municipal policies and regulations.

Naturalized stormwater management ponds are cost effective to build, less costly to maintain over time then conventional stormwater facilities and reduce incidents of flooding saving homeowners and municipalities money. Naturalized SWMPs incorporate native plants, including aquatic plants, grasses and forbs, which slow the flow of run-off into the pond while filtering out impurities such as nitrogen and phosphorus, providing many of the same functions as a natural wetland. Currently, 70% of southern Ontario's natural wetlands have been lost to development.

Naturalized SWMPs also benefit residents through water quality improvements, fewer urban goose problems, ground-water recharging, flood attenuation, carbon capture, and the recreational opportunities afforded by natural features and wildlife presence. They also emit fewer greenhouse gases than conventional systems.

DUC has 80 years of conservation experience and has designed and constructed more than 90 urban naturalized SWMPs in Canada over the past decade. The DUC team's specialized design skills are part of a new paradigm to support community resiliency with low-maintenance wetland functions.

"Research carried out by Ducks Unlimited shows that wetlands and naturalized stormwater systems are an effective tool against the negative effects of extreme weather in an urban environment," says Michael Williams, DUC's head of Restoration Services. "In addition, a co-benefit of naturalized systems is carbon capture at seven times the amount calculated for forests."

"Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation recognizes the value of naturalized stormwater management ponds as cost-effective green infrastructure," says Edward McDonnell, CEO of Friends of the Greenbelt Foundation. "Given the flooding currently impacting homeowners and municipalities across the province, we are eager to support developers and municipalities in incorporating this technology."

Call for Expressions of Interest (Deadline: June 28, 2019)  

For more information, click HERE.

For more information

Ducks Unlimited Canada
PO Box 1160
Stonewall Manitoba
Canada R0C 2Z0
www.ducks.ca/


From the same organization :
17 Press releases
Greenbelt Foundation
#404 - 720 Bathurst Street
Toronto Ontario
Canada M5S 2R4
www.greenbelt.ca/


From the same organization :
2 Press releases