WATERLOO, ON, Feb. 27, 2025 /CNW/ - In the face of unprecedented changes, Canadian water utilities are challenged to plan effectively for an inherently unpredictable future. Canadian Water Network (CWN) is leading a national adaptive planning project to help prepare utilities for a range of future risks. This project is supported by Natural Resources Canada's Climate Change Adaptation Program.
While conventional planning approaches address some uncertainty, they lack the flexibility needed for cost-effective adjustments as conditions change over time. Plans that fail to effectively predict future conditions increase infrastructure investment risks and make achieving resiliency more difficult. Adaptive planning breaks actions into key decision points over the long term, providing decision-makers with greater insight into which investments to make and when.
In recent years, adaptive planning has emerged as the preferred approach to decision-making to address future uncertainties, with leading jurisdictions in the UK, Netherlands, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, the USA and Asia putting it into practice. CWN's adaptive planning project, which runs until the end of 2026, will draw on international best practices from these and other jurisdictions to create usable guidance and resources for Canadian water utilities and water management professionals.
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"Building resiliency and safeguarding communities and infrastructure from inherently unpredictable climate impacts is a priority for water utilities," said Nicola Crawhall, Chief Executive Officer of CWN. "With support from NRCan, we are supporting water leaders in developing adaptive planning pathways to prepare for a range of future risks."
According to Alicia Fraser, General Manager, Integrated Water Services, Capital Regional District (Victoria, BC), "The value of adaptive planning for Canadian water utilities is in understanding future risk and building that uncertainty into a decision-making framework that allows for greater confidence in our ongoing infrastructure investments."
"The impacts associated with climate change are already being felt environmentally and economically in every single region of Canada, including southern Ontario. That is why this federal government is acting now to help our communities and our economy prepare for and protect against the threat of climate change. Canadian Water Network's climate change adaptation projects funded by this federal government's adaptation programs will support the vital long-term, community-based work to keep people safe now and into the future." - The Honourable Jonathan Wilkinson, Minister of Energy and Natural Resources.
"Climate change is impacting Canadians in disastrous ways, affecting their communities, properties, and surrounding environments. Investments like those announced today support proactive planning, actions and collaborations that aim to help communities and sectors across Canada adapt and build resiliency. This vital work further supports municipalities and partners make informed decisions to prepare for and to respond and adapt to climate change impacts." - Bardish Chagger, Member of Parliament for Waterloo.
SOURCE Canadian Water Network
Sandra Cooke, Director of Communities and Climate, Canadian Water Network, (519) 904-2897 ext.78937, [email protected]
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