Water Online the Magazine gives Water & Wastewater Engineers and end-users a venue to find project solutions and source valuable product information. We aim to educate the engineering and operations community on important issues and trends.
Issue link: http://wateronline.epubxp.com/i/529674
A M o d e l F o r P r i v a t e - S e c t o r A Model For Private-Sector S t o r m w a t e r M a n a g e m e n t Stormwater Management A n d W a t e r S t e w a r d s h i p And Water Stewardship Toronto's Partners in Project Green promotes collaborative and innovative strategies for low-impact development (LID) stormwater management, focusing on the industrial and commercial sector. By Alyssa Cerbu and Eric Meliton A s the urbanization of watersheds continues, the challenge of redevelopment and retrofitting to adjust for population growth and upgrading aging infrastructure persists. With many of these projects facing unique challenges that include high capital costs, disengaged municipal stakeholders, and a lack of awareness of key watershed management issues, the potential to implement a retrofit or redevelopment project becomes difficult. With the growing concerns about flood management, increased financial and operational risks, and the need to create resilience to adapt to the impacts of climate change, there is a movement towards sustainable watershed management among forward-thinking industrial and commercial end users. In Ontario, Canada, the Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA) focuses on the implementation of integrated watershed management initiatives in the most heavily urbanized city- region in Canada, leveraging the need for adaptation and innovation as the core aspects of each project. TRCA has regulatory jurisdiction over nine watersheds and a portion of the Lake Ontario shoreline in Ontario. TRCA is one of the largest of the 36 conservation authorities in Ontario and among the most urbanized. By working directly with public, private, and nonprofit partners, TRCA delivers watershed management programs that contribute to the preservation of healthy rivers and shorelines, greenspace, and biodiversity and strengthen the notion of sustainable communities and businesses. A joint collaboration between TRCA and the Greater Toronto Airports Authority (Toronto Pearson International Airport) in 2008 created the public-private partnership group called Partners in Project Green (PPG, www.partnersinprojectgreen.com). PPG pursues collaborative, sustainable initiatives with more than 600 private companies and public organizations and is supported with program and service funding received from regional municipal partners. The group's focus on sustainable business solutions through the power of industry collaboration has led to the development of a competitive, high-performance, and eco-friendly business climate surrounding the airport. This focus area is called the Pearson Eco-Business Zone, which encompasses 14,000 hectares (35,000 acres), 12,500 businesses, and 350,000 employees within its community. The Water Stewardship Performance Committee (WSPC) of PPG has a mandate to: • Develop and implement water-specific programs, events, and consortiums; • Provide leadership through collective water stewardship projects and initiatives; and • Set program targets and metrics and drive tangible results in water footprint reduction. In 2014, the WSPC began projects focused on the implementing innovative low-impact development (LID) stormwater management technologies and practices collaboratively with companies belonging to the Pearson Eco-Business Zone. The projects were undertaken with end users in the industrial, commercial, and institutional (ICI) sector, while utilizing a network of service and technology vendors who offered exclusive pricing on products and services provided, thus enhancing the value to these retrofit water stewardship projects. Governed by a committee of private sector and municipal representatives, the WSPC is responsible for helping to promote, construct, and demonstrate the success of lot-level LID stormwater management systems, including green roof, permeable pavement, and rainwater harvesting technologies. Their ultimate goal is the replication and proliferation of lot-level LID stormwater management projects across the Pearson Eco-Business Zone to reduce the burden on aging municipal stormwater infrastructure. Sustained Enthusiasm And Leadership Calstone Inc. (www.calstoneinc.com), a steel furniture manufacturer based in Toronto, has undertaken numerous sustainable initiatives in its 20 years of business, including promoting its remanufacturing program to recycle and reuse products returned by customers to achieve zero percent to landfill sites; utilizing 100 percent clean, green electricity from regionally sourced, low-impact wind and hydro facilities; and setting long-term goals to be 100 percent disconnected from the grid and serve as a model green manufacturer. In 2014, Calstone approached Partners in Project Green for assistance with a proposed rainwater harvesting installation, which would mark its second on-site water stewardship initiative. Their first involved a 2,000-gallon stainless steel tank that captures water from one of the facility's six downspouts and uses it for cooling spot-welding equipment and flushing toilets. The second project would include disconnecting the remaining downspouts, while designing a way to utilize the rainwater for on-site irrigation, infiltrate the stormwater into the local Highland Creek watershed, and reduce the burden to the aged sewer infrastructure of Toronto. The enthusiasm to pursue such a project is rare among small to medium enterprises in the ICI sector, which led to a full-scale 30 wateronline.com ■ Water Innovations