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Dr. Steve Conrad Simon Fraser University Bio Dr. Steve Conrad is a PICS fellow and instructor at Simon Fraser University. He has consulted widely concerning decision‐making theory, municipal energy use, water demand management, greenhouse gas emissions, and resource efficiency. His research interests include human behavior response to resource management policy, and the integration of social science theories with technical models to improve decision‐making. Dr. Conrad has looked at Effective Climate Change Communication for Water Utilities and drafted the water industry guideline for applying adaptive management to managing climate change and uncertainty in water infrastructure, Dr. Conrad in is currently co‐
principal on an international collaboration examining Opportunities and Barriers for Distributed Energy Resource Development at Water and Wastewater Utilities. Dr. Conrad also sits on the Board of Directors for the American Water Works Association representing the BC Section, co‐chairs the BC Water and Waste Association risk and resiliency committee, and chairs the water‐energy subcommittee of the International Water Association water reuse specialist group. Presentation Dr. Conrad will be presenting on "Groundwater, Perceptions, and Policy: the invisible factors affecting water resiliency in BC." where he will discuss how climate change is encouraging many communities to look toward new strategies for managing short term water shortages. Dr. Conrad will highlight how perceptions and policies affect how and where water users are willing to reduce their water use and how communities are able to develop alternative water supplies, including tapping groundwater sources. Dr. Conrad will explore how using groundwater sources could impact surface water systems, as well as how water users can inform polices and decisions to invest in new water supplies or conservation measures to improve system resiliency of BC's water systems. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Lillian Zaremba, P.Eng., M.A.Sc. Metro Vancouver Bio Lillian Zaremba is a professional engineer with 15 years of experience in the fields of water, energy and climate. Currently she investigates opportunities to recover energy from Metro Vancouver’s water and wastewater systems and manages research on issues including climate adaptation. In a previous role at the University of British Columbia, Lillian managed energy conservation and climate action programs for the Vancouver campus. She has also worked in carbon offsetting, run‐of‐river hydropower development, coastal engineering and oceanographic modeling. Lillian received her B.Sc.(Eng) in Environmental Engineering from the University of Guelph and her M.A.Sc. in Civil Engineering from UBC. Presentation Metro Vancouver Climate Projections and Adaptation Planning Metro Vancouver’s ability to adapt to climate change requires specific information on how changes in temperature and precipitation will play out locally, how expected changes may vary throughout the seasons, and about new climate extremes. A recent study by Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC) helps to understand the details of how the region’s climate may change by end of century. Models project warmer winters with more precipitation falling as rain and a diminished spring snowpack, along with hotter, drier summers. This combination of decreased supply and increasing demand could put strain on the water supply. In 2016 Metro Vancouver completed an assessment of the vulnerability of the water system to changing climate. While modest changes in total annual precipitation are projected, the increases will be concentrated in more frequent and more intense storms. Metro Vancouver is launching a study in 2017 to evaluate how projected future precipitation will affect stormwater. Metro Vancouver is currently developing an integrated regional climate action strategy that provides direction on climate action – both adaptation and mitigation – for the organization and the region. The strategy will communicate and coordinate existing efforts and guide future work more effectively by improving staff understanding of climate action integration, clarifying Metro Vancouver’s role in regional climate action, cataloguing and coordinating the many climate actions already underway, and directing current and future climate‐related initiatives. The strategy will also engage stakeholders, the public and member local governments on the need for integrated and coordinated climate mitigation and adaptation actions. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver John van der Eerden, M.Eng., P.Eng. Associated Engineering Bio John van der Eerden, Vice President – Water Resources, provides support to Associated Engineering’s Water Resources practice, including hydrology, watershed management, urban drainage, stormwater management, flood control, dyking and drainage, and river engineering. As a member of Associated Engineering’s Climate Change Advisory Group, John is a leader in the fields of climate change mitigation and adaptation, with a focus on infrastructure resilience. He has an extensive background in water management and actively imparts his climate science and modelling expertise to Associated Engineering staff and our clients across the country. John actively participates with a number of professional bodies including the National Flood Mapping Committee, SFU’s Adaptation to Climate Change Team (ACT), and the Canadian Water Resources Association National Executive Board. Notably, John was co‐author of the Dike Design and Construction Guide, Best Management Practices for BC. John’s varied experience including flood control studies, stormwater management plans, and hydraulic design projects across Canada and abroad provide John with a thorough understanding of water management planning, analysis, design, and implementation. Presentation Extreme Rainfall (Part 1): Why should we care? Since the 1970’s, flood damage represents 70‐80% of Disaster Financial Assistance Arrangement’s (DFAA) expenditures. Flooding due to extreme rainfall has played a significant role in most of these events. Of the 10 largest events in terms of insurance payouts, two are directly the result, and seven are indirectly the result of extreme precipitation. The economic loss and social impact to our urban environments has been substantial. To effectively adapt to a changing climate, we must first understand all vulnerabilities and how each one is affected by future climate predictions. In the case of floods, we must recognize that there are many forms of flooding; flooding due to extreme precipitation is one of them. Each type of flooding is affected by climate change in different ways. As well, appropriate adaptation strategies vary. Adaptation measures that are suitable for one type of flood threat may not mitigate the risk from other types of floods. On an event basis, historical riverine floods may be of larger magnitude in terms of economic loss. However, the flooding due to extreme precipitation is more common. Furthermore, climate change is increasing both the frequency and severity of flood damage in urban environments resulting from extreme precipitation. By applying the Clausius–Clapeyron relation, it is estimated that for every 1 degree rise in the earth’s atmospheric temperature, the atmosphere can hold 5‐7% more water vapour. More extreme and active weather patterns can result in uplift and rapid cooling of the atmosphere, with the consequential release of increased volumes of water. As a result, most areas of Canada can expect to experience more intense short‐duration precipitation. Locally, what was a 5‐year storm is predicted to become a 2‐year storm over the next 25 years. Likewise, what is currently a 100‐year storm is predicted to become as frequent as a 5‐year storm by 2080. These significant changes in short‐duration rainfall intensity will greatly increase the urban flood risk. The ability of our drainage systems to cope with the increased runoff, both underground and on the surface, must be re‐
evaluated to ensure that the flows are managed in a way that mitigates flood potential and the associated economic and social losses. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Andrew Wiens, P.Eng. Associated Engineering Bio Andrew Wiens, Senior Water Resources Engineer, provides technical leadership and specialist hydro‐technical expertise for Associated Engineering projects across Western Canada. Andrew specializes in hydraulic analysis and economic flood risk assessment of urban drainage infrastructure during extreme rainfall events. Andrew has been analyzing large‐scale urban stormwater systems using dual drainage models for over 10 years. As part of this work, he has developed credible methods for estimating surface flooding extents and flood routing during extreme rainfall events. In addition, Andrew has developed methods for quantification of economic damage to private property as a result of flood damage due to rainfall, river‐based flooding and dam breach analysis. Presentation Extreme Rainfall (Part 2): Methods for Hydraulic Modelling and Quantifying Economic Losses Climate change is expected to impact municipalities in a variety of ways. The increased frequency of extreme rainfall events is one such anticipated impact. Significant urban flooding and property damage as a result of extreme rainfall has occurred in many Canadian cities in recent years. For example, in Toronto, an estimated $850 million in damages occurred during a single extreme rainfall event in 2013. In fact, until the recent fires in Northern Alberta, damage caused by meteorological events dominated the most costly natural disasters in Canada. (http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/insurance‐climate‐change‐adaptability‐1.3323132). Quantifying the estimated flooding extents, depths and economic damages to public and private property as a result of extreme rainfall is not part of traditional urban stormwater analysis. However, the need for utilizing this type of analytical technique is increasing because of the anticipated effects of climate change and the need to build resiliency into the minor and major drainage systems. By comparing the potential for flood damage against the cost of infrastructure upgrades, solutions that provide high value can be identified. The analysis of extreme rainfall events requires two key components. The first component is an accurate representation of the minor drainage system’s ability to capture and convey runoff together with a detailed major overland flow model. The overland flow model is particularly important as this component will identify the depths, extents, and routing of surface flows that could not be accommodated by the minor system. The second component is a systematic method of calculating economic damage to buildings and building contents. Calculating the economic losses from extreme rainfall events aids in understanding the risks across the study area and in identifying areas where drainage improvements provide the highest benefit. The presentation will discuss the minor and major system which form the two parts of a dual drainage model. As part of this, the presentation will review analytical options for connecting the minor system to the major system. The presentation will also cover the differences in hydraulic model output data relative to more traditional computation methods. In addition, the presentation will discuss the methodology for calculating damages at an individual building. These calculations can be applied across large study areas in order to estimate economic losses. The discussion will also review computational methods for converting return period based economic losses to expected losses over the design life of the proposed infrastructure. This type of analysis allows municipalities to develop a defensible benefit‐cost ratio for contemplated adaptation measures. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Dan Sandink, MA, MSc Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction Bio Dan has led a significant portion of the Institute’s urban flood risk reduction work, and he has authored or co‐authored dozens of reports and articles on topics related to urban flooding. Dan’s writing has focussed on public risk perceptions, adoption of lot‐level practices, insurance, climate change, lot‐level flood protection technologies, inflow/infiltration, construction code development, interpretation and enforcement, among many other topics. Dan is a graduate of the geography and planning programs at the universities of Guelph, Western Ontario and Toronto. Presentation Urban Extreme Rainfall Flood Risk: Vulnerability and Resources to Support Action ICLR was established by Canada’s property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry as an independent, not‐for‐profit research institute affiliated with Western University. For nearly 20 years, ICLR has produced and supported highly influential information, tools and resources to support the reduction of risk of loss of life, injury and damage to property associated with natural disasters in Canada. Over the past decade, flooding in urban areas associated with extreme rainfall events has emerged as the most important cause of disaster losses for the Canadian P&C insurance industry. ICLR has been working with academic, insurance and municipal partners to develop tools and resources aimed at assisting key stakeholders in the mitigation of urban flood risks. This presentation will provide an overview of ICLR’s work in this area. The presentation will review the problem of, and losses associated with urban flooding in Canada. The presentation will then review ICLR tools and resources that have been developed, or are under development aimed at reducing risk associated with sewer backup, storm water and infiltration flooding (seepage), with an emphasis on lot‐level solutions. Specific topics will include management of inflow/infiltration in new and existing development, testing and improved understanding of lot‐level flood control technologies (e.g., backwater valves), construction code issues and management of extreme rainfall risk. Workshop attendees will be invited to become involved in ICLR's ongoing programming. Opportunities include participating in ICLR's Municipal Advisory Committee, comprised of municipal storm water, wastewater and sustainability staff. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Lucy Cotter, P.Eng, M.A.Sc CH2M Bio Lucy Cotter is a process engineer with a Masters in wastewater treatment modelling from the EcolePolytechnique in Montreal. With 14 years' experience in engineering consulting, Lucy is now working out of the CH2M Burnaby office. She works closely with senior CH2M staff on wastewater treatment process design, project management and resource recovery studies. She has a keen interest in nutrient recovery from wastewater, and the use of modelling tools for process optimization. Presentation Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Impact and accounting for municipal water & wastewater treatment plants Governments and regulatory requirements world‐wide are moving towards greater accountability for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Operation of municipal water and wastewater treatment plants generates GHGs via anthropogenic emissions (energy use, chemicals, trucks), biosolids management and re‐use, biogenic emissions (biological processes) and other sources. Discussion of provincial, federal and world‐wide regulatory requirements will provide a framework for suggestions on what the possible future harmonized regulatory requirements will look like, and how they will effect operations at municipal water and wastewater treatment plants. A brief review of sources of GHG emissions for municipal water and wastewater treatment plants will be discussed. Accounting methods for GHGs are moving from rules of thumb or industry standards, to site‐specific, process‐
specific quantified models. Case studies demonstrate the use of models to account for GHG emissions, particularly using process modelling tools such as BioWin and Pro2D, and how these accounting methods differ from the industry standard methods. The presentation will use case studies to highlight practical process optimization options for municipal water treatment and wastewater treatment plants to decrease their GHG emissions, and reduce the risk of additional costs to the municipality from GHG emissions. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver David O'Sullivan NASTT‐BC chapter Bio David O'Sullivan immigrated to Canada in 1978 to start a career in civil engineering. He spent 6 years in consulting before moving to contracting in 1986 and evolving to Trenchless technology in the 90’s. David started his own company in 2000 and presently employs 30 staff. Mahbod Rouhany Strategic Carbon Management Inc. Bio Mahbod is the president of Strategic Carbon management, a GHG verifier, and an experienced GHG management advisor with over twenty years of multidisciplinary international experience in project management, research, consulting, and as a technical, operations, and a United Nations project officer. He holds a Master of Science in Environmental Technology and a Graduate level certificate in Environmental Science. His expertise is in GHG mitigation policies, GHG life cycle assessments, and validation and verification of GHG reduction/removal projects. He has over 12 years of direct experience in climate change mitigation. During his term as adjunct professor at the University of British Columbia, Mahbod developed UBC’s GHG inventory which will likely remain as one of the largest, and most complex public sector greenhouse gas inventories in British Columbia. Presentation GHG qualification for trenchless projects The future of municipal trenchless carbon credits Given all evidence of climate change, governments around the globe they are looking for cost effective ways to reduce their carbon footprint. Most cities in North America now use some trenchless (less than 10% and widely varies) for their utility construction. However, quantifying these Carbon reductions is challenging. Metro Vancouver (population of 2.5 million), has 14,000 km of water and sewer pipelines. Assuming a rehabilitation rate of 1% per year, all the work going trenchless and a GHG savings of 75 tonnes CO2e per kilometer, we see more than 10,000 tonnes per year of potential GHG reductions. Extrapolating this to Canada, 140, 000 tonnes/year and the US, 1.3 million tonnes/year. NASTT‐BC, Metro Vancouver, and Strategic Carbon Management, have worked on a carbon credit protocol and tool for trenchless The aim is that this will enable BC local governments to quantify and claim carbon credits under BC Provincial law. The calculator has been built to be transparent, uses established engineering and scientific references to support all calculations. The calculator uses inputs from “record drawings”, and designed for a non‐
expert. GHG emissions can be calculated from 12 different trenchless technologies. We are working with the B.C. Government to get approval for an Option 1 Profile. This would allow BC Municipal governments to use their own trenchless projects for carbon credits instead of purchasing external carbon offsets. By leading this path, BC is setting an example for other jurisdictions to follow. The protocol and tool can easily be adapted for use by any jurisdiction 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Christian Beaudrie, Ph.D. Compass Resource Management Bio Christian is an associate at Compass Resource Management Ltd where he specializes in risk and decision analysis, Structured Decision Making (SDM), and stakeholder engagement, particularly in fields related to environmental and species management, toxics, climate change, and emerging risks. His work involves the development of interactive decision support tools and the use of data science and expert elicitation techniques to enhance decision making under high uncertainty. Christian holds a PhD in Resource Management and Environmental Studies from the University of British Columbia, a Master’s of Biomedical Engineering degree from McGill University, and Bachelors degrees in Chemical Engineering and Biology from the University of Western Ontario. Presentation Timing it Right: Tools and Ideas to Maximise Adaptation Resources We know that we need to adapt, but we struggle with when. Too early will mean wasted dollars and abrupt, potentially wrenching, changes in our communities. Too late and we are at risk of undue suffering from climate extremes. Finding the sweet spot on the timeline is a key component of adaptation planning. This presentation will showcase a sea level rise adaptation timing tool. This tool was developed as a component of the recently completed City of Vancouver Coastal Flood Risk Project. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Graham Long, Eng. D Compass Resource Management Bio Graham offers particular expertise in facilitating and applying structured decision‐making processes to multi‐stakeholder consultation settings, and in developing sophisticated, custom‐
designed decision support tools using Excel, Visual Basic and any other widgets he can get hold of. Graham holds an Engineering Doctorate (EngD) in Environmental Technology from Surrey University (UK) and a Bachelor of Engineering in Chemical Process Engineering from Aston University (UK). He's also a UK Chartered Engineer. Presentation Managing Coastal Flood Risks: A Structured Decision Making (SDM) Approach to Mitigating the Impacts of Sea‐Level Rise in Vancouver, British Columbia Rising sea levels pose increasing flood risks for coastal communities, particularly major population centers along the British Columbia Coast. With a projected sea level rise of 1m by 2100, BC communities face the challenging task of understanding hazards, vulnerabilities, and consequences from flood events, and identifying suitable measures to protect multiple interests over large areas. This talk highlights the application of a Structured Decision Making (SDM) approach to evaluate the impacts of sea level rise and select mitigation options to reduce flood risks for Vancouver, British Columbia. The process involved a series of stakeholder workshops to identify interests that may be impacted, develop suitable mitigation alternatives, review performance of each alternative and consider trade‐offs, and finally to develop recommendations for a suite of mitigation alternatives to protect vulnerable neighbourhoods across the city. To address the challenge of communicating complex risk information, stakeholders were engaged using both spatial illustrations of flood extents for a number of flood scenarios, and an interactive decision support tool to facilitate comparison of alternatives and trade‐offs. This work breaks new ground in evaluating the implications of sea level rise on coastal communities, and provides a model for other communities grappling with the challenges of assessing and managing flood risks from a rising sea. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Tamsin Lyle, M.Eng MRM P.Eng Ebbwater Consulting Bio Tamsin Lyle is principal and founding engineer with Ebbwater Consulting, a Vancouver based company that is wholly focussed on flood management. Over her academic and professional careers she has she has developed in‐depth technical knowledge of flood mechanisms along with a broad understanding of flood policy and planning. She works across the country to help communities mitigate their flood risk, and often speaks out on the need to manage floods in a holistic and integrated manner. She is an author of the City of Vancouver's coastal flood adaptation plan, where some of the ideas in this presentation were first hatched. Presentation Avoiding white elephants: common‐sense principles for adaptation Climate is a moving target ‐ we know the world is warming, we know the sea level is rising but we are deeply uncertain about the pace of this. Current standard practices for engineering design and current benefit‐cost based decision frameworks weren't developed for this new reality. If we continue to use standards based methods (e.g. a 0.2% design flood) and simple decision frameworks (e.g. benefit/cost) we are setting ourselves up to fail. The success of traditional infrastructure, designed on old principles, is typically binary...it works until it fails. In this presentation, we propose common‐sense principles and ideas to create a paradigm shift in design thinking. These principles will lead to a more robust future where infrastructure is useful and effective under multiple climate futures. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Nelson Lee,MASc., P.Eng., GHG‐V Green Sky Sustainability Consulting Inc. Bio Nelson Lee specializes in the climate change, energy and environmental, health and safety management systems‐related aspects of sustainability. For over 25 years he has provided his sustainability strategy services from within industry, as a consultant and in a third‐party role. Nelson recently established Green Sky Sustainability to address the needs and opportunities associated with climate change. He is a Professional Engineer in BC and Alberta and a member of the APEGBC Sustainability Committee. Nelson is an avid volunteer and tries hard to continually reduce his eco‐footprint. He recently re‐joined BCWWA after a 20 year sabbatical. Presentation Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Implementation Tool There is a certain amount of suffering people will experience from a changing climate that depends on: 1) how much and how quickly we mitigate climate change and 2) how well we adapt to climate change. Since mitigation was delayed and judging by national commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so far seem to be inadequate, therefore superior performance in adapting to climate change is essential. A simple matrix format Climate Change Vulnerability Assessment and Adaptation Implementation Tool is proposed to enhance our adaptation efforts and minimize our suffering. It incorporates a Plan‐Do‐Check‐Act approach proven to be relatively easy to implement and effective in the business world for decades. The tool drives an understanding of where we are now, since an essential foundation for any good planning is to systematically understand and prioritize needs (vulnerabilities) thoroughly / completely. Next, the tool can be used to inform and empower as broad / diversified group of interested parties as possible, since "no one is as smart as everyone". Finally, like software, it is best to get started with implementation and continually improve as fast as possible than to try to develop the ultimate tool / solution. This presentation seeks to illustrate how the tool can powerfully get us to start towards adaptation now.
2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Kent Nelson, P.E. Veolia North America Bio Kent Nelson is a Principal and Regional Director for Veolia North America working with performance‐based contracts in the North American municipal market. Mr. Nelson is a licensed engineer and has over 20 years of experience in the industry. He joined Veolia in 2013 as one of the founding team members that helped establish “Peer Performance Solutions” as an innovative new form of public‐private partnership in the municipal water sector in North America. Prior to joining Veolia, he served as the Operations and Maintenance Director for the San Francisco Water Department, as a Water Quality Manager for the Contra Costa Water District, as well as a design engineer and project manager working for various engineering consultants. Mr. Nelson received a MSc in Environmental Engineering from Northwestern University and a BSc in Civil Engineering from the University of Iowa. He currently works and resides in Detroit, Michigan. Presentation Building infrastructure resilience in an evolving risk landscape Annual losses to the built environment from extreme events like flooding exceed US$ 300 billion (UNISDR, 2015). As cities grow and the climate evolves, these risks will present greater challenges in the future. Vancouver just recently experienced flood‐related damage and evacuations, and the local debate over increasing resilience mirrors similar debates in many cities around the globe. Development and execution of cost‐effective resilience strategies requires understanding of risks as well as expertise in building, maintaining, and operating critical water, wastewater, and stormwater infrastructure. A new partnership between Swiss Re, a leading reinsurance company, and Veolia, a global environmental services company, aims to reduce cities' risk exposure to flooding and other natural disasters while simultaneously ensuring the necessary financial capital is available to recover quickly after a disaster. Through modeling of financial exposure under various climate scenarios and comprehensive asset‐level risk assessments, Veolia and Swiss Re work with cities to develop strategic resilience plans. The first such risk assessment is currently underway in New Orleans. Recommended investments and operational changes maximize risk reduction, minimize total lifecycle cost, and leverage efficiencies to reinvest into resilience. Various public‐private partnership models are available for the execution of the resilience plan, allowing for a risk transfer from the public to the private sector. Veolia provides guarantees for asset availability and performance while supporting capital upgrades and operational changes; Swiss Re backs financially the recovery from catastrophic events that cannot be avoided through resilience measures. Progress against milestones and reductions in risk exposure are continuously monitored. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Owen James, M.Sc., C. WEM, MIAM Associated Engineering Bio Owen brings over 19 years’ experience developing and implementing asset management capability both in the UK and Canada. With Anglian Water he developed an award winning framework and evaluation of climate change vulnerabilities for water and wastewater infrastructure serving a population of 7 million in the east of England. In Canada Owen supports municipalities with decision making and asset management planning frameworks that always incorporate the consideration climate change. Presentation Integrating Climate Change Considerations into your Business as Usual Municipal Management The consideration of climate change in our municipal management and planning is so often a standalone activity – the ICLEI BARC risk evaluation across the organization or a PIEVC analysis for a particular part of the infrastructure or for an individual facility. These assessments rarely link to or feed the organizations existing risk management or capital and operational planning processes. While it is important that there is adequate focus on climate change considerations, it should be part of the organizations business as usual processes to support the more balanced allocation of scarce resources. In this way the organization will be able to consider in a fair way the competing demands for investment to address the challenges of not only climate change but also growth, ageing infrastructure, changing customer expectations and regulatory requirements. This presentation will provide a walkthrough of different touch points of climate change initiatives with business as usual processes such as incorporating climate change into corporate or infrastructure risk registers, impacts on levels of service and decision making processes, business case forms, investment prioritization, and design, construction and operations and maintenance activities. The presentation will draw on a number of examples from communities across Canada and from the UK to demonstrate how the integration can be achieved. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Courtney O’Neill, PE, CFM AECOM Bio Courtney O’Neill is a water resources engineer with eight years of experience in water resources planning, reservoir system and hydrologic modeling, climate change, river hydraulics, dam failure analysis, flood inundation mapping, and stormwater modeling. She has a Master’s degree in Water Resources Planning from the University of Washington, where she worked in the Water Resources Management and Drought Planning group with hydrology modeling, climate change forecasts and regional water planning. Courtney’s broad array of technical and analytical skills have proven valuable to several large‐scale multidisciplinary projects, including infrastructure reliability, urban design, and master planning, flood protection, and environmental impact assessments. Presentation Assessing the Risks of Climate Change and Extreme Weather on Infrastructure Reliability for Santa Clara Valley Water District This presentation evaluates how climate change and extreme weather may impact the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s (the District) water supply system infrastructure as part of the District’s Infrastructure Reliability Plan (IRP) Project. The goal of the IRP was to develop scenarios that capture a range of District planning objectives, and provide a reasonable “stress test” under which to measure District system performance and project improvements, and set performance goals. Multiple extreme weather events were evaluated in order to determine the type of event that poses the greatest risk to the District’s water supply system infrastructure. The first step defined the impact on the District’s assets due to each extreme weather event. After the impacts were identified, the next step was to assess the vulnerability in order to determine if there is an exposure route or exposure point from the extreme weather event to the facility. The risk assessment then looked at how the published climate and extreme weather projections could impact the District’s vulnerable water supply system infrastructure. The climate change scenarios were then used in subsequent modeling tasks of the IRP to determine impacts on potable water service.
2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Craig Sutherland, P.Eng. Kerr Wood Leidal Associates Ltd. Bio Craig is a consulting water resource engineer with Kerr Wood Leidal based in Victoria, BC. He has broad experience in water resources projects including planning, design, and construction management. Craig is the lead developer of the KWL water balance model which has been used for climate change impact assessment for water supply for communities on Vancouver Island. Craig remains current with the latest climate change impact and vulnerability assessment techniques, including the Engineers Canada PIEVC Protocols, through his involvement with climate change committees for APEGBC, and CWRA. In his spare time, he enjoys one of our important regional water resources, sailing on the Salish Sea. Meghan McKee, WT‐II, MWWT‐I Environmental Manager, North Salt Spring Waterworks District Bio Meghan joined the North Salt Spring Waterworks District in 2013 as the Water Quality Specialist and was promoted to Environmental Manager in 2015. Her background includes diverse experience in water and wastewater treatment, water quality and supply monitoring, and laboratory analysis. She is currently responsible for the District’s water quality, environmental monitoring, conservation and drought management programs. Meghan holds a BSc in Environmental Management, a diploma in Water Quality Technology and EOCP Level 2 Water Treatment and Level 1 Wastewater Treatment certificates. She is also currently pursuing a Masters of Public Administration at the University of Victoria.) Presentation St Mary and Maxwell Lakes Bulk Water Supply and Climate Change Studies ‐ Climate Change impacts to small water utilities’ bulk water supply and the community’s response. The North Salt Spring Waterworks District (NSSWD) relies on St Mary and Maxwell Lakes to supply potable water for about 5,500 customers on Salt Spring Island. Recent dry summers and increased demand have resulted in extremely low water levels in both lakes, raising concerns about whether available watershed yield and storage is sufficient to support the community’s water demands. Compounding this concern is projected increased demand coupled with climate change projections of warmer summers and prolonged dry periods. A hydrological assessment of the two watersheds was completed to assess whether water yield and storage at St Mary and Maxwell Lakes can support demands up to the water licenced withdrawal limit. To determine the water system’s vulnerability to projected climate change under future 2050s climate conditions, a GIS‐Based monthly water balance model was developed to produce estimates of monthly water availability for both current and future climate conditions. The results of these studies indicate that both lakes may be able to support current water demands up to a 10‐
year‐return‐period drought (occurring in about 10% of years). However, current storage at St Mary may be insufficient to support increased demand up to the licenced withdrawal limit and both lakes may not have sufficient storage under future climate change projections. These studies have given the NSSWD the information it needs to develop a strategy to manage these critical water resources sustainably in the short and long term. In particular, these studies provided the information needed to prepare for and respond successfully to the 2015 drought and work towards reconciling the available supply with development planned within NSSWD boundaries.
2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Chris Howorth, P.Eng. Veolia Bio Chris Howorth is a Professional Engineer in BC with 20 years’ experience working in water and wastewater treatment. He graduated from the University of Plymouth (UK) in 1995 with a degree in civil engineering. He has held technical and commercial positions in various private and public organizations, in Europe and Canada. He is currently responsible for Veolia Water Technology’s business development in British Columbia, based in North Vancouver, BC. Presentation Zero to 100 in under 15 minutes ‐ High‐Rate Clarification Has Helped Municipalities Cope With Increasingly Intense Peak Storm Flows Intense storm events often result in high peak flows in wastewater collection systems due to inflow and infiltration. This can cause sewer overflows (CSOs and SSOs) and bypasses at wastewater treatment plants, resulting in discharges of untreated or partially treated wastewater. Flows above design capacity running through wastewater treatment plants can also cause various impacts, such as permit breaches and process failure (e.g. biomass wash‐out). As climate change increases storm intensity and frequency these events, and the resulting environmental impacts, are likely to worsen. Engineered solutions to mitigate peak flow impacts can be broadly divided into collection system improvements (e.g. to reduce I&I, to increase storage/retention etc.) and overflow/bypass treatment (to reduce environmental impacts). Treatment ranges from screening to remove trash, through physical/chemical contaminant removal, to disinfection for pathogen control. Stormwater’s sporadic, intense nature makes contaminant removal particularly challenging. High rate clarification technologies (such as Veolia’s Actiflo™ process) are increasingly being applied to overcome these challenges, including in Western Canada. This paper presents the technology’s principles of operation, design considerations and performance. Full scale, North American installation experience will be presented. A recent innovation, combining physical/chemical treatment with high‐rate biological treatment for soluble BOD removal, will also be presented. This paper summarizes how stormwater is being treated to secondary effluent quality in a compact, cost effective manner. 2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver Brian Guy, Ph.D., P.Geo., P.H. Associated Environmental Consultants inc. Bio Dr. Brian Guy has lived and worked in the Okanagan since 1994. He’s a National Practice Leader for Associated Environmental Consultants Inc. (which is the environmental division of Associated Engineering). He led the company’s growth and development for 21 years, prior to assuming the National Practice Leader role in July 2015. Brian represents the Canadian Water Resources Association on the Okanagan Water Stewardship Council, and is currently Vice‐Chair of the Council. He managed both Phases 1 and 2 of the Okanagan Water Supply and Demand Project between 2004 and 2010, and has participated in follow‐up work since 2010. He has contributed to four recent studies in the Similkameen River watershed leading to development of a watershed management plan, and managed three of the eight studies completed by the International Joint Commission prior to the 2013 renewal of the Operating Orders for Zozel Dam at the outlet of Osoyoos Lake Presentation How climate change is influencing water management in the Okanagan and Similkameen watersheds Climate change is a key driver affecting the water resources of the Okanagan and Similkameen watersheds in south‐central B.C. Several scientific and modeling studies have come to the same conclusion: temperatures are warming, hydrologic regimes are changing, and both droughts and floods are becoming more severe. Summers are progressively becoming longer, hotter, and drier, which is causing water demand to increase even as water supply decreases. These changes are making it harder for water suppliers to reliably supply their customers, for farmers to maintain access to a reliable supply of irrigation water throughout the irrigation season, and for water managers to protect aquatic habitat in local streams as streamflows decline and water temperatures increase. This presentation will provide an overview of key science, modelling, planning, and research studies that have been undertaken in recent years in the Okanagan and Similkameen watersheds that are leading to improved knowledge of the resource, better decision‐making, and increased robustness of plans and structures in the face of climate change. This work has been led by various agencies, including the Okanagan Basin Water Board (OBWB), the Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA), federal and provincial agencies, research institutions, and others. This ongoing and expanding body of work demonstrates the commitment of Okanagan and Similkameen people and water‐related agencies to understanding and adapting to the realities of a changing climate.
2017 Climate Change Adaptation Conference January 23 – 24, 2017 Vancouver