WEC3 Resources

Recent extreme events in our region combined with Provincial Policy Statement 2014 as well as MECP policy and expectations impose a need to consider the resiliency and vulnerability of stormwater infrastructure under increasing rainfall conditions. As further study and science evolves, it is hoped that the results will lead to clear guidance on climate change and its impacts on stormwater design standards. Until then, the practitioner must continue on with the most reliable information available. Practical guidance for the stormwater practitioner is included in the Windsor-Essex Region Stormwater Management Standards Manual  provides consistent and practical design criteria for stormwater management.

Check out our future climate projections for yourself:

• ClimateAtlas.ca
• Prairie Climate Centre
• Canadian Centre for Climate Services

Partner Resources:

For over a decade, the City of Windsor has been an international leader in:

• Climate Change Mitigation (reducing greenhouse gases)- click to learn more
• Climate Change Adaptation (responding to the impacts of climate change) – click to learn more

The Windsor Law Centre for Cities supports collaborative research, teaching and public engagement con the most pressing legal and policy issues for municipalities and local institutions.

Web-Based Weather Data

Thanks to a partnership with Campbell Scientific, ERCA presently hosts five online climate stations that provide real-time date on rainfall, temperature, and in some cases, wind conditions. Click here for more information.

Publications and Fact Sheets

• WEC3 Climate Change Fact Sheet – general
• WEC3 Climate Change Fact Sheet for Municipalities

In September 2019,  the Air Subcommittee of the Windsor Essex Environment Committee approved a recommendation to declare a climate emergency (click here for downloadable PDF). As of the end of 2019, the City of Windsor, the County of Essex, the Town of Amherstburg, and the Town of Tecumseh have joined over 450 Canadian municipalities in declaring a climate emergency.

Every corner of our region, and every department at ERCA, has been impacted by climate change over the last few years. From our Watershed Management Services that placed the region under a flood watch or warning for 175 days in 2019 (including 15 separate shoreline flooding events), to our agronomist who, like many other farmers in the region, couldn’t plant corn at the ERCA Demonstration Farm this year because it was too wet and had to plant soybeans (and we know planting soybeans year after year is bad for soil health), to our Water Quality team that’s been on high alert for blue-green algae blooms all year, to our Forestry team that couldn’t plant 20,000 trees planned for the region because they couldn’t prepare the fields in time this spring. For these reasons, we at ERCA supported WECEC and the University in the development of a climate change emergency declaration, which was endorsed by the ERCA Board at our November 7, 2019 Board meeting (click here for a downloadable PDF).