Using a grant for $74,800 from the Trillium Foundation, Ducks Unlimited completed a study on wetlands as flood risk management and presented their findings in Innisfil on Jan. 23.
The report made the case for 'integrating wetlands into flood risk management' – and proposed new partnerships between Ducks Unlimited, the province, and the municipalities to explore the role of wetlands as cost-effective 'natural infrastructure' that can complement more traditional flood mitigation infrastructure.
Both the timing and the location of the announcement were deliberately chosen. On Jan. 11, unseasonable heavy rains resulted in extensive flooding in parts of Innisfil.
“There’s no denying Ontario has a flooding problem,” said Kevin Rich, Government Relations representative with Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Barrie branch. Rich noted that in the spring of 2019, 23 Ontario municipalities and one First Nations community declared flood emergencies. And on Jan. 11, a single storm dumped over 60 mm of rain on the GTA and surrounding areas.
“It’s also pretty clear that Ontario has a habitat problem,” Rich said, with the loss of habitat leading to a loss of biodiversity. The report, he said, introduced “a strategy we think will handle both… and increase the natural assets like wetlands and forests.”
MPP for Barrie-Innisfil Andrea Khanjin, Parliamentary Assistant to Minister of Environment, Conservation and Parks Jeff Yurek, called the Ducks Unlimited report a “really exciting announcement,” and one that is in keeping with the provincial government’s ‘Made in Ontario’ Environment Plan.
She spoke of her government's commitment to a “clean and prosperous future in the province of Ontario,” noting that wetland conservation could support biodiversity, improve water quality, reduce phosphorous loading - and mitigate flooding.
Khanjin spoke of working with partners like Ducks Unlimited and the municipalities to build “resiliency” and deal with the impacts of climate change.
“We’re making great progress,” she said of the Environment Plan, citing a requirement of 10 percent renewables in gasoline, the establishment of an advisory panel on climate change, and the naming of professional engineer Doug McNeil, in July of last year, as Special Advisor on flooding.
She promised “science-based policy,” based on research like that carried out by Ducks Unlimited. “We will review it carefully,” Khanjin said.
“We are well aware of the impacts of flooding,” said Innisfil Mayor Lynn Dollin, noting that the town is actively looking into flood mitigation, in areas that include hard-hit Belle Ewart.
“Ducks Unlimited is providing critical research that municipalities can utilize to develop strategies,” Dollin said. “We’re so happy to have partners that can help us, that are experts in the field.”
The contents of the study, titled Municipal Conservation of Wetlands for Flood Resiliency, prepared by Emmons and Olivier Resources, were summarized by Sean Rootham, DUC Conservation Programs Specialist.
The consultants “summarized the business case” for a new, expanded role for natural infrastructure like wetlands in flood mitigation, Rootham said, and confirmed that wetlands “can be a cost-effective complement to traditional infrastructure,” like stormwater management ponds.
Although there is a growing awareness of the importance of conserving wetlands, he noted that that awareness has “not yet been fully translated into action.”
Ducks Unlimited is recommending a number of steps going forward – including standardizing the cost-benefit analyses currently in use, hosting multidisciplinary workshops to identify barriers and opportunities when it comes to integrating wetlands into flood mitigation plans; partnering with a municipality on a case study/pilot project; and developing resources that will assist municipalities in their decision-making.
“We’re not saying more wetlands is a silver bullet,” said Rich; but it may be a tool that can help municipalities address flooding and it offers “all those other benefits,” from habitat preservation and improved biodiversity to cleaner water.
Dollin later noted that the municipality is not dealing with a “blank slate” that would make it easy to integrate wetlands into its flood mitigation plans but is dealing with decisions made in the past, some of which have resulted in problems today.
"Recent events have shown us just how devastating the impacts of flooding can be. Research like this helps map out how municipalities, Ducks Unlimited Canada and others can work together to conserve wetlands as natural infrastructure," she said.
