Smart Blue Roofs: A breakthrough solution for urban stormwater management

Mississauga: Recently, cities in Ontario have been hit hard by severe weather, leading to significant flooding. This has caused a lot of damage to homes and businesses. To tackle these issues, Mississauga is exploring new drainage solutions.

Enter the smart blue roof. This innovative system was just installed at the Credit Valley Conservation’s head office. It’s a big deal because it’s the first of its kind in Canada that meets the national standards for rainwater harvesting.

So, what exactly is a blue roof? According to the folks at CVC, it’s a smart stormwater management system. It uses advanced tech to figure out the best way to use rainwater that it collects.

The system can hold onto rainwater until it evaporates, which helps cool the building. Or, it can send the water to a tank for reuse in non-drinking applications. It can even slowly release some water back into the city’s drainage system when it’s dry.

But there are some challenges. James Cowan from CVC points out that keeping up with building codes is tricky. Plus, since this tech is new, there aren’t many experts in Canada who can install it. And it can’t be used in winter because freezing water could cause problems.

Flooding is a serious issue. It damages property, disrupts services, and harms the environment. The hope is that this smart blue roof can help reduce those risks.

While the technology isn’t available to everyone yet, CVC and Mississauga are working together to see how well it performs. They want to find ways to use it in more places across Canada.

This project kicked off in the summer of 2022 and has already won a Clean50 Top Project Award for its potential to inspire similar efforts in other areas facing heavy rainfall.

For more info, check out cvc.ca/project/smart-blue-roof.