Climate changing management rainfall runoff.
Storm water management in an age of climate change could see the use of more “soft behaviours” along with hard pipes, says a Sarnia engineer.
Philip Keightley, an engineer and project manager with Sarnia-based MIG Engineering, spoke Thursday about the challenge of climate change at the third annual Sarnia-Lambton Water Symposium, at the Lambton College Event Centre.
“We’ve basically practiced storm water management in some form or another since we started to urbanize,” said Keightley.
Since the 1970s, when he began working in engineering, that management focused on trying to get water, falling as rain or snow, away from urban areas.
That led to taking another look at storm water management practices including the use of “soft” approaches, he said.
“It you’re in a city, it’s all hard surfaces,” he said.
“We need to look at a different approach when you’re looking at climate change,” Keightley said.
“We know with global warming we’re seeing more extreme events.” It has led to looking at approaches to development that seek for ways to mitigate the effect of increased runoff and storm water pollution, by managing the runoff as close as possible to where it originates, he said.
The symposium also showcases Sarnia-Lambton’s capacity in the areas of the water and waste water research, as well as provides an opportunity for partnerships to form between industry and researchers, he said.