Windsor a 'sitting duck' for flooding due to lack of trees, wetlands in Essex County

Disappearing forests and wetlands in Essex County means more flooding in the City of Windsor, says the Environmental Commissioner of Ontario.

An entire volume of Dianne Saxe'slatest report,entitled "Back to Basics," isdedicated to disappearing forests and wetlands in southern Ontario.

"Essex County, which is upstream of you, has the lowest rate of wetlands and woodlands in Ontario only 3 per centof trees, andonly about 1.5 per centof wetlands," Saxe explained to CBCNews. "The minimumnecessary for a healthy ecosystem and some kind of reasonable flood resilience is 30 per centwoods and 10 per centwetlands."

As a result, she says, rain gushes from the county into the city.

"Basically, you're an order of magnitude less woodlands and wetlands than you need to absorb the rain when it comes. So you're sitting ducks when it floods."

This increased amount of rainwater also contributes to the amount of raw sewage dumped into rivers and lakes as a result of overwhelmed city sewer systems, another issue highlighted in Saxe's report.

The environmental watchdog says these issues can be reduced or eliminated through a series of measures.

"Reestablishingwoodlands and wetlands in Essex County would go a long way to absorb the water so it doesn't flood into the sewer," she said. "We also know that within the city itself, Windsor doesn't ... charge people for the storm waterthey allow to flood into the sewers."

Saxe gavethe example of a parking lot as a type of land use that contributeto flooding and sewage discharge.

"Because they're just an open hard surface, the water just runs directly into the sewer," she said, noting that cities such as Kitchener and Mississauga incentivizeproperty owners through fees to drain storm waterinto the soil.

Green infrastructure such as green roofs can also help, Saxe added.