The Narwhal - Paving wetlands for housing ignores Ontario’s history of floods
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In an effort to accelerate housing development, the provincial government has introduced legislation with a slate of proposed changes to wetland policy throughout Ontario. However, environmentalists and water resources professionals are highlighting the dangers of developing wetlands - fragile ecosystems which naturally provide valuable flood mitigation services.
“Take, for example, the mouth of the Don River in Toronto. Settlers who colonized the area also filled in the great wetland that was once there, leaving the land around it more vulnerable to floods. Now, various levels of government are contributing huge sums of money to rebuild what was destroyed, a massive undertaking that will cost over a billion dollars. ”
“Even as it plans to reduce wetland protections, the Ontario government has also poured tens of millions into wetland restoration projects in the last few years.
“Here we are, recognizing the vital nature based solutions that wetlands provide on the one hand,” said Rebecca Rooney, an associate professor at the University of Waterloo who researches wetland ecology. “But then we’re going to simultaneously greenlight a lot of irrevocable wetland loss… Right now I’m just reeling from the juxtaposition.”
A tow truck driver floats a car out of the Don Valley Parkway in Toronto amid flooding in 2013. A massive wetland at the mouth of the Don River used to mitigate floods in the area, before settlers filled it in. A restoration project is now underway, at a cost of over $1 billion.