View Summer 2021 issue

Summer 2021

For the Rural Municipality of Corman Park in Saskatchewan, Barr provided flood-risk reduction modelling and mapping to help predict lower-flood-risk areas that could be developed near the South Saskatchewan River.

Facing climate-change challenges with confidence

June 30, 2021

We have all heard about climate change. The central question today is how we prepare for it. Changing precipitation patterns, shorter-duration ice covers, and more extreme storms due to climate change increase the risks to communities, businesses, and natural resources. Studies show that most North American inland areas will experience increased precipitation with each extreme rainfall event, leading to greater risks of flooding and infrastructure damage. Meanwhile, drought can also occur—sometimes in the same year as flooding.

Taking a long-term view in planning climate-impact adaptation strategies—by engaging stakeholders, assessing risks, and creating vulnerability assessments—can help prepare communities, businesses, infrastructure, and natural assets for climate uncertainties in the future. Barr supports our clients with community-specific plans and spatial mapping of risks, impacts, and vulnerabilities.

Climate adaption planning process

In industries such as mining, it’s common to plan projects decades in advance, well within the range of time for more pronounced climate change impacts. For long-term projects, now is the time to determine likely climate-change impacts and plan for effective solutions.

Barr has experts across North America to help manage climate change impacts on long-term projects for mining and renewable-energy clients, environmental agencies, watershed organizations, and more.

About the authors

Fred Rozumalski has over two decades of experience in landscape architecture, ecology, horticulture, native-landscape design and restoration, and lake, stream, and wetland shoreline restoration, working with a broad range of public and private clients. He strives to work with nature to create economically viable, low-maintenance landscapes that are functional and beautiful while also supporting plant and animal diversity.

Hossein Kheirkhah Gildeh has more than eight years of experience in dynamic water resources engineering projects for both public and private clients in Canada and beyond. He provides technical and project management leadership for hydrologic and hydraulic projects, supporting Barr’s growing number of clients in this area.