Download our Stormwater Brochure

Want to plant the seed for alternative stormwater management with your friends, co-workers or members?  Download our colour brochure here and spread the word!

For a higher resolution version, please contact the Ecology Action Centre.

Demonstration Site is OPEN!

The launch of Halifax's first Stormwater Retrofit Demonstration Site took place last week and we have lots of photos to share on the blog.  Click here to see the whole album (22 photos)!

Take a tour of the Stormwater Demonstration Site at 5988 Robie Street in Halifax!

Site Launch - Tuesday November 27th 2012

Stormwater Management 

Demonstration Site Launch

Join the Ecology Action Centre, and project partners, in launching Halifax’s first stormwater retrofit demonstration site.

With changing climate conditions and heavier rainfall predicted, it is more important than ever to understand how to manage stormwater effectively.

This event is for everyone interested in learning about alternative techniques for managing stormwater on site, in order to prevent damage to properties and municipal  infrastructure, to save money and improve ecosystem health.  We hope to see you there!

    When:            Tuesday November 27th, 2012          

                     10:30 am, site tour at 11:00 am.      

    Where:           Halifax Fire Station

                     5988 University Ave. (corner of Robie St.)

   Will there     

   be Coffee?   You bet!

    

This is a rain or shine event, so bring a

jacket and hope for… rain of course!

Stormwater Demonstration Site Progresses

The work at Halifax's first Stormwater Retrofit Demonstration Site is nearly complete!  See the photos below for progress.  Photos below courtesy of Oliver Bence, Vollick Mckee Petersmann Associates, Inc.

Bioswale and two rain barrels in background

Laying new sod

Preparation for laying permeable pavers at entrance

Construction has started at Stormwater Demonstration Site at University Avenue Fire Hall

Workers broke ground last week at the Stormwater Demonstration project at the University Avenue Fire Hall.

The infiltration strip along the edge of the parking area was marked and dug.

The bioswale along the side of the building was also marked and dug using a backhoe.

The rain barrels were attached on site, though these will likely be stored for winter in a few weeks.

The permeable pavers will be going in soon near the staff entrance of the building, the next image shows the site being prepared.

Please check back for more details and photos as the project progresses!

Photos provided courtesy of Oliver Bence, Vollick McKee Petersmann Associates Ltd.

Stormwater and climate change adaptation

Climate change is expected to bring about more extreme weather events such as rain, snow, drought, heat waves and severe storms. The massive damage caused by Hurricane Sandy is a reminder that extreme weather is now a reality. Stormwater systems will be affected by the increased frequency and intensity of rainfall events. The higher volume of rainfall may exceed the capacity of stormwater entry points or cause sewer overflows, leading to infrastructure damage and impacting water quality. Stormwater systems may need to be upgraded to deal with the increased flow. There is an urgent need to understand and adapt to the many climatic changes that are expected to occur. Innovative stormwater management practices are an important part of climate change adaptation.

A recent report published by climate scientist, Dr. Gordon McBean, examines how weather patterns in Canada have changed in the past and how they are expected to change in the future. The report aims to provide decision makers with the information they need to better adapt public and private infrastructure to the realities of the changing climate. In the report, Dr. McBean states, “Both the historical and projected trends shown in the research point to the need for Canada to adapt now in order to minimize social and economic costs in the future.” Predictions made for Atlantic Canada in the report include a likely increase in hurricane and storm activity in the region with resulting storm surges. Freezing rain events will likely increase by 50 per cent in Newfoundland. Nova Scotia could see increases of about 20 per cent.

These extreme weather events have had already had huge environmental and economic impacts in Canada. In 2011, catastrophic events cost Canadian insurers roughly $1.7B and almost $1B in each of the two previous years. The majority of these insured losses were caused by extreme weather events, but smaller weather events also played a role in significant property damage for consumers (IBC). 

Climate change impacts all of us and we all have an important role in reducing the potential impacts of stormwater. Source control involves managing runoff on individual lots and relies on property owners and developers to implement practices to reduce the amount of runoff leaving a site. Installing a rain barrel, creating a rain garden, retaining green space and not using pesticides are a few small practices that will protect your home, increase the resiliency of our stormwater systems and improve our ability to adapt to climate change.

Field Trip to the Stormwater Center at the University of New Hampshire

A keen group of engineers and town planners from Nova Scotia, an environmental engineer with Halifax Water and the Ecology Action Centre's Water Coordinator recently had the pleasure of visiting one of the leading stormwater research institutions in North America.  This trip was organized and funded by Nova Scotia Environment and the Climate Change Directorate as well as Service Nova Scotia and Municipal Relations.

The University of New Hampshire’s Stormwater Center (UNHSC) located in Durham, N.H. is dedicated to the protection of water resources through effective stormwater management.  One of the ways that UNHSC does this is through conducting primary field research on various stormwater treatment systems.  These include conventional systems such as swales and ponds, LID designs such as bioretention and gravel wetlands, and manufactured systems.  The image below shows the layout of their primary research site.

This stormwater research site collects water from a 3.6 hectare parking lot in Durham.  The stormwater is captured in the distribution box at the top of the image and equal volumes are piped to the various stormwater systems being tested.  Measurements from the outflow of the treatment systems are collected and tested at the sampling gallery at the bottom of the image.

Source: University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center, 2009 Biannual Report

The photos below show the various Best Management Practices (BMPs) on the site.

 Photo 1:
Manufactured system Stormtech Isolator in the foreground. Retention pond in the background.

Photo 2:
Dr. Ballestero from UNHSC standing in the Retention Pond

Photo 3: 

The Subsurface Gravel Wetland, slightly overgrown with vegetation.  The diagram below shows how the Subsurface Gravel Wetland works.

Source: University of New Hampshire Stormwater Center, 2009 Biannual Report

This method is one of the most effective ways of removing dissolved inorganic nitrogen and total phosphorous, as well as controlling peak flow.

Results from all of  UNHSC's stormwater BMP testing are available at the UNHSC website under publications.  

Nova Scotia's record rainfall

 Heavy rainfall events caused severe flood damage in Truro (Photo: Paul Palmeter, CBC, Sept  23, 2012)

From CBC News - October, 2, 2012:

September 2012 was the wettest September on record in Nova Scotia, with 386.8 millimetres of rain, according to Environment Canada.

The figures, released Monday morning, show rainfall amounts at the Halifax Stanfield International Airport smashed the previous September record — 308.7 millimetres, set in 1996.

This September's rainfall amounts are also very close to the all-time wettest month on record in the province — August 1971, when 387.1 millimetres of rain was recorded.

The last weekend of September proved to be a wet one for many Nova Scotians:

• Greenwood — 23.6 millimetres.
• Halifax Stanfield International Airport — 42.4 millimetres.
• Ingonish — 20 millimetres.
• Kentville — 27.6 millimetres.
• Malay Falls — 109 millimetres.
• Port Hawkesbury — 66.2 millimetres.
• Sydney — 18 millimetres.
• Upper Stewiacke — 45.2 millimetres.
• Yarmouth — 59.2 millimetres.

Earlier in September, heavy rains caused two rivers to overflow in the Truro area, forcing the evacuation of dozens of homes.

The area was pummelled with more than 75 millimetres of rain in one day, which caused more than $2 million worth of damage

Slow it, spread it, sink it

We wanted to share this great video by the US Environmental Protection Agency that shows a number of ways to reduce stormwater runoff including rain gardens, rain barrels and green roofs. Many of these best practices can be used at your home. The goal of these tools is to 'slow, spread and sink' the stormwater to keep it from polluting downstream waters.

We built a rain garden!

Thanks to everyone who participated in our rain garden community build at the George Dixon Community Centre last week. Check out the short video below to see how it went!

Rain garden community build!

You are invited to take part in a rain garden community build at the George Dixon Community Centre, 2502 Brunswick Street in Halifax. The event will take place on September 12th from 12-2 pm. 
Please RSVP to water@ecologyaction.ca 

Click here to read our February blog post on rain gardens.

Xeriscape Gardening

We are happy to share another blog post written by Mike Price. This time Mike covers xeriscape (zer-i-skape) gardening, a method of gardening that reduces water and energy use. Climate change is resulting in hotter and drier summers, which means we need to consider new water-efficient ways to  maintain our lawns and gardens. 

Not only did Mike Price write this blog, he also shared a great photo of  his water-efficient garden!

Xeriscaping … a natural, water-efficient
 garden for surviving hot and dry summers

Designing landscapes that match local conditions with xeric (or water-wise) plants, trees and shrubs that will thrive. Xeriscaping literally means dry gardening and was invented in Colorado in the 1980’s. 

Do you have to re-engineer your whole garden to switch to this "xeriscaping"?

No you don't. You can change part of it. Maybe you have a problem area where your present maintenance isn't working well. Maybe you have an area that isn't very attractive in its present state. Eventually you may want to change your whole yard to an Eco-garden, but you can do it a section at a time.

If areas are to be paved for recreation purposes then open joints allow for rain-water to soak into the ground rather than running off the property.

The best way to plan the change is to check with your local nursery, or check in a book or on the internet to find which plants are drought-tolerant, then move the plants that need regular, frequent watering to another part of your garden and replace them in your new dry land area with new plants known to be drought-tolerant.

Is this stuff hard?

This is not rocket science. It's the old learning curve: steeper at first, easier later. Most plants are quite adaptable and give you lots of warning when all is not well with them. And gardens are often somewhat of a "work-in-progress". Plants die, get too big, don't do what you thought they would, or would look better in some other part of the garden. But if you move plants around too often, sticking them here, then there, it’s known as ‘velcro-gardening’!

If you are going to try xeriscap gardening, you do need to know a bit more about plants and soils than the "water every few days" that is adequate when you have loads of rain-water.

There are seven principles of xeriscape gardening. Check out the details at the Toronto Water website. 

By following these seven basic principles when xeriscaping your lawn and garden, you can create a lush, colourful and unique garden that requires less maintenance and water – leaving you to sit back and enjoy your summer. Or travel without worrying about who will water what!

Water-wise plants for xeriscaped gardens

For a complete list of suitable plants that are readily available, visit your local garden centre or look on websites such as the Urban Farmer.

It is a safe bet when looking for drought tolerant plants to pick ones with grey or bluish foliage, usually a sign that they can take the heat and need little water.

Xeriscape Demonstration Gardens

Fort Collins, Colorado

Attributes of good Xeriscape education gardens include labels for plant materials, other interpretive materials such as brochures and plant lists, grouping of plant by similar water needs, ease of public access including ADA standards and availability of knowledgeable persons to explain the garden to visitors. Feedback from visitors to the garden owners or managers should be encouraged.

As a real ‘alternative’ garden concept one could even consider “hugelkultur” instead of irrigation! 

Rain Chains

Rain Chain (Photo: M.Price)

Rain chains are a great, decorative alternative to traditional downspouts. They are linked chains that visibly transport water from your roof gutter to the ground. They are a beautiful addition to any home or building and can contribute to runoff reduction through evaporation and spillage as well as reduce soil erosion. Rain chains have been used for centuries on homes and temples in Japan to transport and collect water in large barrels or ceramic pots.

There are two main rain chain designs that are commercially available – cup designs and link designs. The cups have open bottoms and act as funnels, draining water from one cup to the next. Cup designs are more efficient than the traditional link designs that tend to splash more in heavy rains. Both links and cups emit pleasing sounds when water cascades down the chains.

Rain chains are easy to install. They hang from the hole in your gutter where the downspout would connect and often come with simple installation guidelines. You can order rain chains online, find them in stores like Lee Valley Tools or you can make your own!

Photo: www.ecofriend.com

Photo: www.apartmenttherapy.com

Photo: www.altollmfg.com

Urban Water and Your Property Part Two: Drainage

Last week we shared a blog post written by former manager of Toronto Water and current EAC volunteer, Mike Price, on urban water and your property that focused on incoming water. Part two of the post, also contributed by Mike, examines considerations for urban homeowners around water that leaves your property, also known as drainage. 

Photo: bit.ly/NeUL72

The water leaving a typical urban property leaves via surface flow or underground pipes. The surface flow during a rainfall event will take with it all surface pollutants used on, or deposited on, the surface. The underground pipes can be: 

    -  Sanitary sewer containing sanitary waste and maybe weeping tile water depending on the municipality

   -  Storm sewer containing rain water and maybe weeping tile wate

   -  Combined sewer where all liquids are put into one pipe

Current Issues regarding municipal waste water treatment

·    -  Surface waters, lakes, rivers and oceans, are becoming contaminated from human activities, resulting in polluted recreational waters, damage to fish and shellfish, and changes in the whole ecosystem. 

·     - Storm sewer flows are not treated but empty into the nearest waterway

·     - Sanitary sewage takes huge amounts of power to pump and treat before release into the environment

·     - Combined sewers are prone to surcharging and overflow during heavy rainstorms causing surface water pollution

·      - Sanitary sewers and especially combined sewers are prone to backing up and causing basement flooding in heavy rainstorms

·      -  Previous drainage design criteria often required roof drains and weeping tiles be connected to the sewers (thus adding clean water to be expensively treated at sewage treatment plants)

Current solutions for Urban drainage dischargers

    
     To assist with the big picture - sanitary waste solution:

 -   Reduce flows to municipal sanitary sewer by installing water efficient fixtures

 -   Reduce flows to municipal sewers by disconnecting roof downspouts from the sewer

-    Reduce flows to municipal sewers by installing sump pump for weeping tile water and discharge the clean water to the ground for irrigation

 -   Consider ‘grey-water’ reuse such as flushing toilets

 -   Consider a sewer backflow preventer to mitigate against basement flooding

    To assist in implementing storm water management techniques:

 - Rainwater harvesting (methods listed earlier)
 - Eco-gardening

             - Minimize need for water

             - Reduce lawn area  

             - Move to drought tolerant lawn grass

             - Leave grass clippings on the lawn

             - Use ‘push’ lawnmower to reduce pollution

             - Eliminate pesticides and fertilizers on lawns

             - Use shade trees

             - Xeriscaping garden designs

             - Mulch gardens to retain water

             - Discharge roof water via ‘chains’ to garden

             - Consider natural ponds to capture rainwater

             - Decrease paved areas, increase porous areas

   - Don’t wash the car in the driveway

  - Don’t dump any soapy water, waste oil or chemicals down the storm drain (it goes straight  to the nearest creek!)

- Pick up animal feces 

Urban Water and your Property

The following blog post was written by Mike Price, former general manager of Toronto Water and highly valued Ecology Action Centre volunteer. This  post provides a comprehensive overview on the issues and solutions related to incoming water on a property. A subsequent post will look at outgoing water, or drainage. Thanks for the great blog contribution, Mike! 

Downspout deco-chain (Photo: M. Price)

The water used on a typical urban lot comes from two directions. Down from the sky or out of a water pipe. Rainfall can be good, and sometimes hazardous, but we don’t make the best use of it. The water from your tap (potable) can be from several sources:

        - Private untreated supply from a well on the property

        - Municipal treated supply, from the tap, originates from surface water (lake or river) or ground water from wells

·        Current Issues regarding municipal water supplies

      -  Surface waters, lakes and rivers, can become contaminated from human activities. 

      -  The volume of supply from surface water in Canada is dwindling due in part to ‘climate change’, but also due to increased demand. 

      -  Ground water supplies are similarly impacted but depending on the depth of the well the ability to replenish is being negatively impacted by human intervention.

      -   A large amount of energy is used to treat and pump the municipal water to reservoirs and around the water distribution system. 

      -  During hot summer months up to 50% of the water supplied is used for external ground watering.

       - Throughout the year about 60% of the building water use is for flushing toilets

Recreational beach closure (Photo: M.Price)

. Current solutions for urban water providers and users

    Water providers (Province, Municipalities and/or water utilities)

  -   Prepare and implement Source Water Protection Plans

  -   Prepare and promote Water Efficiency Plans

  -   Actively seek out and repair water pipe leaks

  -   Eliminate unnecessary fire hydrant flushing

  -   Minimize energy used in the treatment and distribution of potable water

  -   Prepare and regulate Pollution Prevention Plans

  -   Prepare and implement Storm Water Management Plans

   -  Mitigate the impacts of Combined Sewer Overflows

   Water users (residential and ICI property owners)

 -  Minimize tap water use

     a)   Low flush toilets

     b)   Reduced volume shower and tap heads

     c)   Grey water re-use (for toilet flushing)

    d)   Use more drought resistant garden plants (called Xeriscaping)

    e)   Eco-gardening

     f)   Use timers on automatic sprinklers

 - Maximize rain water use

     a)   Rainwater harvesting

               1.   Downspout disconnection

               2.   Grade property to keep rainwater from running off the property

               3.   Use rain barrels for garden watering

               4.   Create specific areas for a rain garden

               5.   Minimize paved areas

Rain barrel installed at disconnected downspout  (Photo: M. Price)