The Bas-Saint-Laurent innovates
L’Organisme de bassin versant de la Matapédia-Restigouche in the Gaspésie adopted a major rain garden project in 2017. The goal was to reduce the storm water runoff from impregnable surfaces, such as roofs, driveways and streets, which mitigated eroded sediments into the Restigouche River – a salmon resource and habitat.
The project of Les Ami(e)s du bassin versant du lacWaterloo (ABVLW) is largely inspired by the OBVMR project. It aims to encourage Waterloo’s citizens to build their own private rain garden to help manage the storm water runoff and thereby contribute to protecting the lake.
Here is sample video showcasing different gardens that have been landscaped as part of the OBVMR project.
Offsetting basement floodings
In 2013, the City of Sherbrooke launched an ambitious project to resolve erosion problems on the banks of the Vignobles stream, which seemed to affect the water of the Magog River. In collaboration with the Conseil de gouvernance de l’eau des bassins versants de la rivière Saint-François (COGESAF) and the Regroupement des associations pour la protection de l’environnement des lacs et des bassins versants (RAPPEL), the City laid down the foundations of an intervention plan to control water runoff. This plan had a module labelled «Protecting the Vineyard Stream». It called for engagement and individual contributions, inviting the citizens to pull together and implement solutions to help control storm water runoffs, including rain garden solutions.
The project helped create eight infiltration trenches and 18 rain gardens, at a cost of $ 80,000 (including corrective work in municipal ditches, stabilization of some degraded bank beds sections, and dismanting of ice or logs jams (e.g. fallen trees in the stream)).
