Climate-resilience of dams and levees in Canada: a review

Increasing frequency and intensification of flooding pose significant threats to critical structures, such as dams and levees. Failure of these structures can lead to substantial economic losses and significant adverse environmental and social consequences. Improving the resilience of these structures against climate-related impacts is important to avoid future risks of failure due to the potential intensification of flooding. National-level guidance on integrating resilience-based frameworks and addressing climate risks and uncertainties in existing design flood estimation methodologies for dams and levees are lacking. To address these gaps, this study first reviews projected climate change patterns for Canada and then discusses regional vulnerabilities of dams by considering significant historical floods and their consequences. Subsequently, a review of existing design flood estimation procedures, with a focus on frequency- and probable maximum flood-based approaches, is conducted to identify areas where climate change-related aspects can be integrated. By examining the challenges associated with various stages of design flood estimation procedures, the review discusses a framework for enhancing climate resiliency of dams and levees considering four pillars of resilience. Furthermore, Canadian design flood estimation practices are compared with international practices to identify areas that require attention. The study highlights the importance of a resilience-based framework in providing design and operation guidance to ensure that dams and levees are resilient to climate impacts. Policymakers and engineers can prioritize consideration of climate-resilience in the design and operation of these structures in order to safeguard communities and infrastructure from the growing risks of future floods associated with climate change.