Understanding and Assessing Impacts
This project forms part of additional work by EOS Eco-Energy to address climate change impacts on environmental and human well-being. Downtown Sackville and much of the larger Tantramar Region have been historically affected by over-land freshwater flooding. Flood mapping recently released by the Government of New Brunswick expects flooding to become more frequent and more severe towards the end of the century.
The Town of Sackville in 2016 released a Corporate Climate Change Adaptation Plan to better understand how climate change was projected to affect their community. The plan presents an adaptation vision for the Town of Sackville, and details climate change impacts affecting the municipality including changing precipitation patterns, sea level rise, intensifying storms and storm surges, and rising temperatures. A series of flood scenarios are also included. The plan summarizes previous public engagement sessions, including risk and vulnerability assessments.
Sackville has experienced major flooding when 100mm of precipitation falls over a 24-hour period. Climate modelling suggests that precipitation events will become less frequent, but the intensity of the storms is expected to increase.
Impenetrable surfaces and impervious materials used in construction such as concrete and asphalt inhibit the absorption and increase stormwater runoff and put pressure on storm drains. Stormwater runoff can cause erosion, contribute to water pollution, localized flooding and even decrease groundwater levels. Stormwater runoff from some of these areas can also negatively impact water quality of the Waterfowl Park due to pollutants and sediment accumulation.