ES&E NEWS government with more information are the potential impacts of the project in terms of pipeline location; facility design, construction, operation and maintenance; water resources and sediment quality; air quality; characteristics of the wastewater after treatment; fish and fish habitat; flora and fauna; human health; archaeology; Mi'kmaq land uses; and engagement with the public, Mi'kmaq and government. The paper plant’s management says that, while it is willing to collect the data requested, the new focus report could jeopardize its ability to meet the government’s timeline to complete construction of a new waste management facility by January 31, 2020. The government passed the Boat Harbour Act in 2015, launching a five-year countdown to the closure of the mill's current treatment site.

SASKATCHEWAN GETTING WATER, WASTEWATER AND FLOOD RESILIENCY FUNDING

The government of Saskatchewans recently announced funding for upgrades to Meadow Lake's water and wastewater management systems. Due to geography and climate change, Infrastructure Canada said residents on the east side of Meadow Lake face increasingly serious flooding issues. Especially during spring thaws, large volumes of stormwater create a high risk of ruptures in the 50-year old sewer pipes that run alongside drinking water mains. This can leak contaminated water into the drinking water system. Under this project, all of the community’s common trench sewer and water pipes will be replaced. The city will also relocate its existing sewage lagoon to outside the city limits to protect Backwater Creek, which sits behind the existing lagoon, from raw sewage overflows. Backwater Creek runs into Meadow Lake, which is the raw water source for the city’s drinking water treatment plant. Ralph Goodale, federal Minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness, has announced funding for eight new water and wastewater projects in Saskatchewan.

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LETTERS Ontario’s Stormwater Standards example an often cited report entiI would like to point out some tled “Telling the Weather Story” states inaccuracies in the December 2018 that weather events that happened issue article by William Curry entievery 40 years are now occurring tled “Ontario's Upcoming Stormevery 6 years. water Standards Will Change The Way However, there is no data to support Stormwater Is Dealt With.” that statement, and it has been Firstly, the statement “We are seeing revealed that the stated shift was only an increased intensity and frequency of a theoretical one. It did not actually larger rainstorm events within a single consider the cited ECCA data at all. year” is not supported by data in Secondly, as a member of the Ottawa, southern Ontario, or Canada. Ontario Low Impact DevelopAccording to Environment and ment (LID) Stormwater ManageClimate Change Canada's (ECCC's) ment Guidance Manual stakeholder Engineering Climate Datasets, Version committee, it does not appear to me 2.3, the trends in rainfall intensity that any ‘upcoming standards’ are on observed for the Ottawa Airport are the way. generally decreasing for durations The Ministry of Environment, of five minutes to six hours. Several Conservation and Parks has also decreasing trends are statistically commented that there will not be significant (i.e., a strong downward LID ‘standards’ but rather voluntary guidance if and when these are trend in observed rainfall intensity). The City of Ottawa reviewed its released. design standards in late 2015 based Robert J. Muir, M.A.Sc., P.Eng. Manager, on rainfall trends. It concurred that Stormwater, Environmental Services for short durations the ECCC intenDepartment, City of Markham. Email: sities are less than design values by rmuir@markham.ca 5% and 10% for 5 year and 100-year curves respectively. As a result, the Consultants and the Future city concluded that trends were I just finished reading Pat within the margin of error associColeman’s excellent article in ated with data collection and hydrothe December 2018 issue about logic assessments. As such it did not embracing new technologies to face a future that is already here. Indeed, change its design standards. we have to be bolder in addressing This is consistent with similar climate change issues if we stand a studies in Guelph, Kitchener, chance to adapt and mitigate GHG Waterloo, Hamilton, Vaughan and emissions. Markham, as well as ECCC's CanaAs Quebec’s former Sustainda-wide analysis of trends that show able Development Commissioner, I a 'lack of a detectable trend signal'. currently co-chair the Great Lakes This means changes in observed St-Lawrence Collaborative with rainfall intensity vary up and down Gordon Miller, Ontario’s former naturally, with no overall increasing ECO whom you surely know. Climate or decreasing trend (i.e., observed storms are not any bigger than before). change, toxics, nutrients and beaches are all issues in need of innovation As we pursue measures to manage flood risks and other stormwater chal- and boldness to address. I will share this article with my collenges, it is important to get the basic leagues. risk factors right, otherwise engiJean Cinq-Mars, Co-chair, neering designs could be misguided. It is commonplace in the media today GLSL Collaborative. Email: info@westbrookpa.com to overstate perceptions as data, and so we have seen an erosion in the rigour of reporting on extreme rainLetters and comments are fall trends over many years. welcome. Send them to: Also, some are content to be fast editor@esemag.com and loose with data observations. For June 2019  |  65