Representatives from the engineering and scientific communities gathered at a workshop at the Environment Canada Toronto campus to define the key challenges facing both communities in understanding and communicating information on how infrastructure design can adapt to extreme precipitation under a changing climate.
The November 10 workshop was a first meeting to bring together 25 key players from the science and engineering communities and was designed to exchange information on engineers’ needs for extreme precipitation information and the current state of the science of extreme precipitation data and projections.
The workshop included an update on the availability of current and projected Intensity, Duration and Frequency (IDF) precipitation curves needed for stormwater system design and management. A summary report that includes all presentations will be available in the first quarter of 2016 from Environment Canada.
The workshop was jointly organized by Environment Canada, Engineers Canada and the Standards Council of Canada. David Lapp, FEC, P.Eng., Practice Lead, Engineering and Public Policy, was the engineering representative on the organizing committee and secured the participation of engineers from several engineering consulting firms and two Ontario conservation authorities who are substantial users of this information.
