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5,491 views
11 citations
Review
23 August 2021

Urban flooding events are a significant driver of disaster loss, resulting in insured and uninsured losses, property damage, and negative impacts on residents and communities in Canada and internationally. The risk of flooding in urban environments is affected by watershed characteristics, environmental conditions, and the presence and condition of flood management and mitigation technologies. Several building- and lot-scale (or private-side) flood mitigation options are available to better protect properties from the risk of flooding, including backwater valves and foundation drainage systems to reduce the risks of sewer surcharge and infiltration flooding into basements, respectively. The overall success of private-side approaches to reduce the risk of flooding into buildings is reliant upon consistent installation procedures, building code interpretation and enforcement, public engagement, and maintenance. Current research into private-side approaches is presenting many opportunities and solutions for improved flood protection against water-related disasters at home. A greater understanding of the performance of private-side technologies under complex site-specific conditions can help to appoint flood prevention strategies better suited to individual home characteristics. This review paper explores the inter-related factors that affect the risk of basement flooding and explores the challenges and opportunities associated with the adoption and success of private-side flood mitigation approaches. Developing a greater understanding of basement flood vulnerability at the lot-scale will assist in identifying and prioritizing private-side strategies for homeowners to adopt and reduce the risk of flooding based on site-specific conditions affecting flood vulnerability. Continued efforts to evaluate and identify flood risk factors and the performance of private-side strategies are needed to better manage urban flooding events.

24,448 views
13 citations
Policy and Practice Reviews
12 July 2021

Many publications include references to reliability, risk and resilience, specifically within the context of climate change and rapid urbanization. However, there is a considerable gap between theory and actual implementation by drainage professionals. As such, most drainage professionals will not have an appreciation of a drainage system's response to events in excess of its original design event. This gap is compounded by the desire toward evaluating components such as “critical infrastructure” for events significantly more severe than ever contemplated. This paper, reflecting the combined wisdom and thoughts of various drainage professionals across Canada involved with the creation of the Canadian drainage standards (CSA W204 and W210), provides a treatise of risk and resilience based on the application of the dual drainage principle. It provides a discussion of key factors including climate change; densification; shape, intensity, duration and spatial extent of storm events, as a function of the normalized capacity or drain down/emptying time of the various components of the drainage system. Commentaries are offered, highlighting the role of appropriate setbacks and freeboard, and focusing on those aspects that have historically been ignored. Avenues to increase system resilience are presented including an evolution in passive and active flow controls, the potential beneficial role of natural systems and low impact development practices as a function of system sensitivity, discussing how options may vary across Canada.

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11 citations
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