1 Southside Fredericton Residents are Fortunate to have the Protection of Huge Wetlands at the Top of the Hill The new reality is that catastrophic storms are now happening. The +6-inch rain storms in Charlotte County last December 2010 show the new reality faced by home and business owners in this province. Environment Canada predicts that severe rain events in New Brunswick are only going to increase with frequency and intensity. NASA and NOAA predict that hurricane events up the Eastern Coast of the Atlantic are going to increase with frequency and intensity. Man-made solutions WILL NOT PROTECT US against flooding. Stormwater pipes are no substitute for intact wetlands and forests within our city limits. * The importance of wetlands for flood control cannot be overstated - 1 acre of wetland can hold 1.0 to 1.5 million gallons of floodwater. The wetlands in the UNB Woodlot can’t be replaced by man-made stormwater pipes and retention ponds. It simply will cost Fredericton taxpayers too much money, and man-made infrastructure will still fail during severe rain storms. Wetlands are our insurance policy against climate change. A recent study by the U.S. Global Change Research Program found the amount of very heavy precipitation on the eastern seaboard from Washington, D.C., to Maine rose by 67 percent between 1958 and 2007. So unprecedented are these rain storms that New Brunswick’s 100- year-flood risk calculations are now outdated, and new ones will not be ready for another 2 years. This is a wake-up call for residents, urban planners, and all levels of government. Larch Swale UNB Woodlot Fredericton NB WETLANDS PROTECT US The Friends of the UNB Woodlot - April 2011 UNB WOODLOT
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Southside Fredericton Residents are Fortunate to have the Protection of Huge Wetlands at the Top of the Hill
The new reality is that catastrophic storms are now happening.
The +6-inch rain storms in Charlotte County last December 2010 show the new reality faced by home and business owners in this province.
Environment Canada predicts that severe rain events in New Brunswick are only going to increase with frequency and intensity.
NASA and NOAA predict that hurricane events up the Eastern Coast of the Atlantic are going to increase with frequency and intensity.
Man-made solutions WILL NOT PROTECT US against flooding.
Stormwater pipes are no substitute for intact wetlands and forests within our city limits. *
The importance of wetlands for flood control cannot be overstated - 1 acre of wetland can hold 1.0 to 1.5 million gallons of floodwater.
The wetlands in the UNB Woodlot can’t be replaced by man-made stormwater pipes and retention ponds. It simply will cost Fredericton taxpayers too much money, and man-made infrastructure will still fail during severe rain storms.
Wetlands are our insurance policy against climate change.
A recent study by the U.S. Global Change Research Program found the amount of very heavy precipitation on the eastern seaboard from Washington, D.C., to Maine rose by 67 percent between 1958 and 2007.
So unprecedented are these rain storms that New Brunswick’s 100-year-flood risk calculations are now outdated, and new ones will not be ready for another 2 years.
This is a wake-up call for residents, urban planners, and all levels of government.
Larch SwaleUNB WoodlotFredericton NB
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Rain storms of Dec 2010 are just a prelude to the climate instability caused by global warming.
The warming of earth’s oceans has altered our weather systems, pushing the normal variability to extremes, including snowfalls.
Severe rain events have consistently risen since 1970s.
Our stormwater system is already failing during heavy rain falls (e.g. June 28, 2010 Southside Superstore flooded, Forest Hill manhole “geysers”).
You can’t change the geography of southside Fredericton - a downtown plat & steep hill sandwiched by the flood plain of the Saint John River and the huge forested wetlands of the UNB Woodlot.
And you can’t change gravity – our stormwater pipes drain into the Saint John River but effectively get blocked by the huge water pressure of the rising Saint John River (during severe rain events, our spring freshet, and in recent years during fall and early winter months).
Like a large umbrella covering our homes and businesses, we are very fortunate to have the protection afforded by the intact wetlands of the UNB Woodlot.
Many cities have already lost these natural rain catchment areas due to development, making their residents and business owners vulnerable to severe rain events.
The Value of Urban Wetlands www.elements.nb.ca/theme/filters08/Mark/Mark.htm
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Without the wetlands in the UNB Woodlot, where will the rain water go?
UNB WOODLOT
* The UNB Woodlot is a 3800-acre forested wetland situated at the top of Fredericton and is equal to the size of the south side of Fredericton and Lincoln in the valley below. Just like an egg cracked over a person's head, rain captured by the UNB Woodlot supplies the headwaters and tributaries of Corbett Brook, Phyllis Creek, Garden Creek, and Baker Brook watersheds, and smaller watercourses that flow through Fredericton and towards New Maryland. With climate change, we need all of these catchment areas to withstand future catastrophic rain events of 8, 10, 12 inches of rain in a 24-hour period.
April 7, 2011Thursday @ 12:15pm
Lunchtime Rally for the Woodlot
“DON’T PAVE OVER OUR FUTURE!”
Citizens to Measure off the 80m Buffers at Costco and Rally for Action on Climate Change by UNB & Gov’ts 12:15 to 12:45 PMThursday, April 7th- meet beside the future Costco site, at lights in front of Home Depot (along New Maryland Hwy)
