Sustainable Ecosystems EDITORIAL COMMENT BY STEVE DAVEY
Soil retaining system helps urban trees reach maturity By Eric Keshavarzi WATER: IS IT STILL CANADA’S MOST NEGLECTED RESOURCE?
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his issue 30 years reen marks infrastructure andsince susthe publication of Environmental tainability goals are of inSciencecreasing & Engineering Magazine’s importance, and first issue. As part of our anniverachieving them requires techsary year, ES&E and will training be revisiting and nical knowledge in varied exploring important topics, technolfields. Integration of soil and trees into ogies areas and events that have impacted urban substantially improves susCanada’s water, wastewater and environtainability and helps alleviate some of our mentalpressing protection industries.challenges. most ecological To kick-off, we go back quality, to our FebruThese include air and water rising ary 1988 inaugural issue, wherefrom we temperatures, flooding and erosion published an exclusive review of then daily rainfall events. Federal Environmental The West Don Lands, inMinister Toronto, Tom OnMcMillan’s perceptions about the state tario, is a community that is people foof Canada’s water sector.environmentally cused, family friendly, In 1987,and ES&E staff met with for Mr. sustainable beautifully designed McMillan in both Ottawa and again in living. It has a Stage 1 LEED ND GOLD Philadelphia at WEFTEC ’87, where his certification under the pilot program esvigorous presentations wellBuilding received tablished by the U.S.were Green by some of North America’s top enviCouncil. ronmental professionals. We thought One notable sustainable component,it would interesting seearea’s howstreets, much utilizedbe in the design oftothe has changed during the three decades is a soil retaining system called Silva that haveTypical passed since Cells™. urbanthen. trees in the city core die after approximately seven years. WATER CONSUMPTION PRICE However, Silva Cells help AND extend their Minister McMillan: “Among industrilife spans, thus promoting the growth of alized countries, our consumer price for mature street trees. water is the lowest. Weofmust starthad viewing Although the City Toronto prewater not only as a key to environmental viously used Silva Cells as part of a health – butmanagement also as a scarce commodity stormwater pilot program in The Queensway, their use as part of site
the most expensive water and wastewater services are Denmark ($6.70), the United Kingdom ($4.77), and Belgium ($4.03). At $1.50 per m3, Canada certainly trends toward the lower end, as does the U.S. at $1.25. Minister McMillan: “In Europe, water charges are four times higher than in Canada, and per capita use is less than half that of Canada.” As reported in The National Post, a 2008 study showed Canadians used an average of 329 litres of water per person, per day. This is second only to the U.S. in the developed world, and is still more than twice as much as Europeans use. Installation of Silva Cells in Mill Street. Minister McMillan: “If water is both cheap and abundant, why void are space some development is new. In fact, the West Don soil. The structure has 92% Torontonians proposing a $200 million Lands streets are the first in a Toronto and is a stable surface for the installation transport water from Georthat has realtovalue. And wewith should subdivision be designed thisbegin sys- pipeline of vehicletoloaded-pavements. gian Bay to the City?”installed, they can managing it – and pricing it accordingly. ” tem installed under parking lay-bys and When properly This pipeline has thus notrating. been According to a 2011 report by the sidewalks. achieve an AASHTO H-20far load needed. In fact, capacity upgrades to its Canada West Foundation (www.cwf.ca) Mill Street was the first subdivision Canadian Highway Bridge Design Code four treatment plants and extensive water prices charged for water and wastewater street in Toronto to be designed to include loading can also be achieved through apprograms haverequired enabledload the services greatlysystem. among Organisation this soilvary retaining As the lead conservation propriate design. This is the City to sell surplus water to other jurisfor Economic Co-operation and Develengineering consultant, R.V.Anderson rating for structures such as underground including York Region, opment (OECD) nations. On aand national Associates coordinated all plans spec- dictions, vaults, covers and grates in areaswhere of traf-it goes as far north as Newmarket. level, OECD nations with the lowest ifications with the landscape architect. fic including sidewalks and parking lots. McMillan: “If water is truly charges for About water and wastewater Silva Cells services TheMinister cell structure transfers the force to a cheap, why do Canadians spend $100 perSilva m3 areCells Mexico ($0.49), Ireland ($0.65), are a plastic/fiberglass base layer below the structure. and Korea nations with continued overleaf… structure of ($0.77). columnsOECD and beams that supSoil within the cells remains at low port paving above un-compacted planting compaction rates, thereby creating ideal
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