Webinar – Old Dog, New Tricks: Using the Drainage Act to get Low Impact Development (LID) into the Ground (Previously Recorded)
Online anytime!
Estimated time requirement: 1 hour
Instructor: Bill Trenouth and Shannon Malloy
Course Description
Infrastructure deficits and public funding shortfalls have resulted in Ontario’s current stormwater infrastructure predicament. Despite proven performance, low impact development (LID) has not enjoyed wide scale uptake at the municipal or watershed level, even where stormwater utility and credit programs exist. This is in large part due to long or non-existent payback periods which fail to properly incentivize businesses to undertake retrofit projects.
Necessity breeds innovation – even when the innovation in question is a Provincial Act with precursors dating as far back as 1835! The STEP Water Partners have carried out an in-depth investigation of the Drainage Act – a 183 year-old piece of Provincial legislation – and have evaluated it through the lens of 21st century stormwater engineers grappling with the water resource management challenges of our time. Having examined it with a critical eye, it is clear that the Drainage Act has a rich history of stormwater innovation, and that opportunities exist through the Act which allow for economic and performance efficiencies to be realized.
This webinar focuses on an innovative, current application of the Drainage Act in a pre-developed urban area as it pertains to the inclusion of low impact drainage features within the Credit River Watershed. From project initiation to preliminary reporting and dispute resolution mechanisms, the Drainage Act offers a transparent framework that can be used to successfully get projects into the ground. Through the development of Assessment and Maintenance Schedules, the Drainage Act ensures that the cost of constructing and operating drainage works is funded by public and private users in perpetuity. Assessment and Maintenance schedules are transparent in their allocation of costs and rigorous in the methodology of their development, thereby minimizing opportunities for disagreement.
Who Should Attend?
This webinar is intended for municipal engineers, planners, councillors, CA staff or others who work in stormwater management, green infrastructure implementation or is interested in progressive uses of the Drainage Act legislation
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the greatest barriers inhibiting LID adoption, particularly in retrofit contexts.
2. Review successful urban applications of the Drainage Act, and the ways in which it has been used to resolve urban drainage issues.
3. Understand the central tenets of the Drainage Act as they apply to urban stormwater management, including the provisions guaranteeing the protection of features and perpetual maintenance.
Additional information:
IECA, Landscape Ontario, and AORS members are eligible for discounts. To register at this discounted price please contact us at STEP@trca.ca and provide your member ID for membership confirmation.
IMPORTANT NOTE: The video access information will be included in your receipt and you can view the webinar at anytime. If you have any additional questions, please contact us at STEP@trca.ca.
TRCA HST Registration number is 10808 8584 RT001