Scientists are clear: in the coming years, there will be more heavy rains like the ones we have experienced recently. This is due to climate change. Cities, for their part, tell us that their underground pipes cannot handle so much water at once. What can we do, in this case, to avoid being flooded every time? Here are some inspiring solutions.
As we have seen in recent weeks, sewer pipes are no longer sufficient when it rains a lot. They overflow, they flood. And the solution is not to build more and bigger pipes. Rather, it is to allow the water to flow naturally into the ground where it falls.
The problem: in cities, there is concrete covering the ground almost everywhere! Water can’t get through it! Unless… it can?
+ absorbent materials!
Asphalt and concrete are designed to be impermeable: water slides off their surface and is directed toward drains. Researchers are developing materials that could make sidewalks, parking lots and streets “absorbent”!
These materials are more aerated, more porous. They absorb some of the water and then let it flow slowly into the ground. Some of the water continues to go into the city’s pipes, but in smaller quantities.
A new parking lot in Boucherville, on the South Shore, works according to this principle. It features permeable paving stones and flowerbeds to absorb water. It is estimated that 80% less water is discharged into the pipes!
+ green and grass
We are even starting to build what are called sponge streets. No, they are not actually made of sponges, but they leave a lot of room for vegetation. The street is narrow to reduce the paved surface. On each side, there are trees and flowerbeds. At intersections, we are also building rain gardens, that is, small squares of greenery, deeper in the middle, designed to collect water.
In the spring of 2025, the first sponge street will open in Montreal. It’s called… Larivière Street! It has the perfect name, don’t you think?
This is what Larivière Street will look like. Only emergency services (firefighters, ambulances, police) will be able to drive there.
+ love for puddles
It is impossible to remove all concrete and asphalt surfaces. To manage the excess when it rains, cities also build “flood plazas”. These public places collect water during heavy rains. It forms a pond that slowly flows into the ground over a few days. This way, the sewer system is not overloaded!
In Montreal, Place des Fleurs-de-Macadam can collect 30 centimeters of water that drains naturally into the ground in 48 hours. And what does it look like? Like this!
Conclusion: let’s imitate nature!
Absorbing water where it falls, letting vegetation grow… sounds a lot like what nature already does, doesn’t it? That’s what water management experts advise: take inspiration from what nature does rather than trying to control it. Not a bad idea, right?
Caroline Bouffard
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