A University of Waterloo research centre
Generously supported by
The Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation (Intact Centre) is an applied research centre with a national focus within the Faculty of Environment at the University of Waterloo. The Intact Centre works with homeowners, communities, governments and businesses to identify, and reduce, the impacts of extreme weather and climate change.
To this end, the centre is an incubator of new adaptation ideas, conducting research, knowledge mobilization and promoting initiatives aimed at de-risking the negative impacts of a changing climate and extreme weather, such as flooding.
The establishment of the Intact Centre was made possible through the leadership, vision, and generosity of Intact Financial Corporation, a long-time partner and donor to the University of Waterloo particularly supporting climate adaptation. In November 2015, Intact announced a gift directed in support of the centre’s mission and goals.
Contact Andrea Curley, Manager, for ways to get involved with the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at Intact.Centre@uwaterloo.ca
Read our latest news below. Follow us on Twitter @ICCA Canada for the most recent updates on climate adaptation and flooding.
Recent Reports
Ahead of the Storm: Developing Flood-Resilience Guidance for Canada’s Commercial Real Estate (October 2019): by Natalia Moudrak and Dr. Blair Feltmate. This report outlines 20 measures that can be implemented by commercial real estate owners and managers to enhance flood-resilience of existing office towers, thereby reducing the potential for property damage, business disruptions and loss of life. Click here for a brochure about the report.
Water on the Rise: Protecting Canadian Homes from the Growing Threat of Flooding (April 2019): by Cheryl Evans and Dr. Blair Feltmate. This report outlines the key findings of the Home Flood Protection Program to date regarding practical best practices for basement flood protection educators and residents to reduce their flood risk. Click here for an infographic about the report.
Weathering the Storm: Developing a Canadian Standard for Flood-Resilient Existing Communities (January 2019): by Natalia Moudrak and Dr. Blair Feltmate. This report outlines a range of solutions that can be deployed practically and cost-effectively within communities to reduce flood risk. It also introduces a new prioritization framework for selecting areas within communities that should be targeted for retrofits. The report will inform the development of a new National Standard of Canada. Click here for an infographic about the report.
Too Small to Fail: Protecting Canadian Communities from Floods (November 2018): by Dr. Blair Feltmate and Anna Fluder. This report showcases practical actions that communities and organizations (i.e. municipal governments, non-governmental organizations, conservation authorities) could engage to limit flood risk at a local or community scale.
Combatting Canada’s Rising Flood Costs: Natural infrastructure is an underutilized option (September 2018): by Natalia Moudrak and Dr. Blair Feltmate. The key message of the report is Canada cannot afford to lose more natural infrastructure assets, like wetlands and ponds in its overall effort to limit the growing costs of floods, droughts and other natural disasters. Click here for an infographic about the report.
After the Flood: The Impact of Climate Change on Mental Health and Lost Time From Work (June 2018): by Dana Decent and Dr. Blair Feltmate. The report profiles the results of 100 door-to-door interviews with households in flooded communities, identifying health impacts and financial costs such as lost time from work. Click here for the report and click here for an infographic about the report.