How Canadian beaches are adapting to the threats of climate change

With experts detecting another hot summer along the way, Canadians will likely turn to the most obvious remedy for the heat: water.

But as public beaches, marinas and other waterfronts ease pandemic restrictions across the country, new safety considerations are targeting the dangers shorelines face due to climate change.

“Because climate change is accelerating and the impacts we are seeing on our coast are getting worse every year, we are in a state where we must continue to monitor,” said Gregry Ford, director of water programs. for Swim Drink Fish, a registered charity that helps protect national waterfronts by promoting management practices, monitoring and education.

“We need to know how our shorelines are changing to better respond to safety issues and hazard mapping with conservation areas at all levels,” Ford told CTVNews.ca.

Swim Drink Fish has been the Canadian operator of Blue Flag International since 2020. This year, Ford helped designate 22 beaches and 10 marinas with a blue flag, an award given to community residents who meet high environmental, safety and cleanliness standards.

This year, he says, climate change has become a consideration when assessing waterfront safety standards.

“Obviously with the increase in precipitation we get more precipitation from storms, and the increase in precipitation leads to an increase in occurrences of combined sewer overflows, and our combined sewers are unfortunately left in a lot of our waterways,” Ford said, citing an example of how the increased frequency of storm surges can cause public health concerns.

“One of the ways we’re looking to address this is to include signage information like best practices for avoiding water for 48 to 72 hours after a heavy rain,” he said.

Ford also explained that his team is working to identify areas of active erosion in the wake of increased storms, with the goal of learning which areas are most dangerous during sudden weather changes.

“It’s really an education, awareness and awareness campaign, where we’re helping people make sure they know the risks, that they know how the coastline is changing,” he said.

“By informing them of these changes and involving them in the effective monitoring of these changes, they can then become stewards of their waterfronts.”