Ecological engineering a new way to say use our natural systems to clean up waterways


ack in the good old days we went to work in a plant to make things. Today, we are learning to let plants do the work for us. This was the essen- tial message of a panel of experts about using natural assets to work with and even replace some of our en- gineered infrastructure to deal with waste and run off from urban environments. What does all that mean? Simply that natural wet- lands, sloughs and urban forests can do much more of the cleanup in our communities than we have allowed them to do over the past century. Brought in by Winnipeg’s Metropolitan Region (for- merly PMCR) Executive Director, Colleen Sklar, the panel included Roy Brooke, Principal at Brooke & As- sociates; Michelle Molnar, Environmental Economist at the David Suzuki Foundation; Chris Weber, Senior Manager at Deloitte in Climate Change & Sustain- ability; Mark Anielski, Present and CHO at Anielski Management Inc.; and Bob Sandford, EPCOR Chair for Water and Climate Security at the United Na- tions University Institute for Water, Environment and Health who engaged in a two-day conference with local mayor, reeves and civic administrators called Keeping Manitoba Liquid.


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In practical terms, the panel discussed the need to incorporate natural assets – urban forests, natural water features, natural drainage systems – into community balance sheets, and then to put these assets to work for us.


According to a report prepared for the Ministry of the environment in Finland, 2008, “Growing recogni- tion is now being given to “soft” or “ecological engi- neering” options, in which attention is given to sound environmental management as a form of structural de- fence, instead of steel fabrications, poured concrete or shifted rocks. Limited, but increasing, evidence now shows that good environmental management can play an important – and cost-effective – role in reducing many of the risks posed by natural hazards.” “There is a real value in these natural assets that needs


to be recognized. Every day, decisions are being made on how to provide services to our communities with- out taking these assets into account. Keeping Manitoba Liquid was the beginning of a much larger conversa- tion, one that will allow us to ensure we are measuring and managing our natural assets in tandem with our traditional asset management framework in order to re- alize our full return on investment,” said Collen Sklar.


u Coping with ice Continued from page 1


four times as much as salt, but its ef- fects last two to five days. Why doesn’t


it leave a red stain?


They use white beets. There are many other de-icers. Rub-


bing alcohol or vinegar can help pre- vent ice buildup on your windshield. Some airports use potassium acetate as de-icer as it is less corrosive on met- als and concrete, but it is expensive and the run off can lower oxygen in water, an issue for aquatic life. So why is ice slippery? Just as why hot water freezes faster than cold, we are not entirely sure but one recent ex- planation is that the surface molecules of ice, when they are in contact with air, can’t bond with the molecules beneath them so they remain liquid. The old explanation was that friction caused by another substance moving over the ice caused the surface mol-


ecules to melt. The end result is the same.


Not everyone wants to get rid of ice.


We’ve been using it as a coolant as long as man has been around, and storing it has been practiced for millennia. The Persians used to dig deep holes in the desert, lining their underground facili- ties with an interesting mortar made from sand, clay, egg whites, lime, goat hair and ash. It was 100 percent leak free. They also defined wind-catchers that further reduced temperatures in their storage units.


It’s used in other ways as well. Geilo, Norway, hosts an ice music festival ev- ery year. The musical instruments are carved from blocks of ice and tuned by the musician. As the instruments melt, the sound changes. And, as we know so well here, it makes a lovely medium for sculptures.


Pictured from left to right: Honourable Rochelle Squires - Minister of Sustainable Development, Shelley Hart - Mayor of East St. Paul; Colleen Sklar - Executive Director of PMCR Janice Lukes - City of Winnipeg Councillor; Terry Zdan; Dr. Annette Trimbee - President of University of Winnipeg; and Sherril Matthes - Partner at Honest Agency.


The town of Gibsons, British Columbia (the town


made famous by the TV show, the Beachcombers) is leading the way in Canada, using natural features to handle rainwater, floods and water purification. For a look at how this works, visit https://youtu.be/Sc5z- 197VOW0. Gibsons has obvious run off potentials with a visible network of creeks and aquifers, but so does Winnipeg and its surrounding communities. In the city, many of these natural creeks, tributaries and rivulets have been forced underground, hidden, drained or chan- nelled into other former waterways as in the case of the former Colony Creek, which once ran through the centre of town near the Royal Alexandra Hotel (Main and Higgins) but was diverted to Omand’s Creek that runs near Polo Park and empties into the Assiniboine. Another creek, now nothing but a memory com- memorated by a plaque, is Sinclair’s Creek (once called Ross’s or Brown’s Creek), which ran east from Princess along William to the Red river, but which was filled in way back in the mid 1890s.


If you look at a close-up map of Winnipeg, you can see vestiges of other water systems, now chopped into minor basins (we call them man-made lakes) to handle rainwater, but with much of their natural flow either sent underground or completely filled in. The trees and natural plants that followed these wa- terways were destroyed to make way for development. Over the years, to replace the natural assets, we have built costly networks of sewers and drainage systems that often become overburdened when there is a big rainstorm or during a fast spring thaw. We also spend billions trying to clean up the water we foul in our everyday lives. Municipalities are now beginning to see that restor-


ing natural systems can reduce costs and eve do a bet- ter job of drainage and clean up than we have been doing artificially. One of the recommendations of the conference is to try a pilot project here in Manitoba to see how much using our natural assets can save us and where they can do a better job.


u Scams to watch for A phone call comes from a “CRA


Continued from page 1


agent” claiming that a recent audit shows that you owe CRA back taxes. They threaten you with freezing your bank account or seizing other assets and they may even say they have a warrant for your arrest. They demand immediate payment.’ Not even the CRA works like this. For one thing, they will never request pay- ment by prepaid credit cards or iTunes gift cards. If you have doubts, tell the caller that you will phone to CRA direct- ly for verification and hang up. You’ve won a free vacation. Caller will often ask you to pay a small fee to collect your prize. There is never a fee to collect a prize. Hang up. Phishing scams. Call tells you there is something wrong with your computer, or that it’s been hacked. Their goal is to get you to download malicious software that will give them access to your computer


and private information. These Phishing expeditions also come in by email. Phone debt collectors. They claim


they are calling about an old debt and they are very aggressive using scare tac- tics to rattle you. Don’t give out any per- sonal information. Tell the caller to send you written notice of your debts. Hang up.


Help me out Grandma. Caller pre- tends to be a relative – usually a grand- child traveling in a foreign land. There is an emergency – they need money for bail or to pay a big fine or whatever seems reasonable. In one case here in Winni- peg the caller claimed to be the victim’s “favourite grandson”. When she asked which one, the fraudster was coy, saying, “You know. Don’t tell mom and dad – they’ll kill me . . .” And she fell for it, wiring him money to pay a fine, pay for a damaged car, and to pay for a plane ticket before she caught on.


December 2017


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