Inspecting the Laval Hospital Green Parking Lot

Adapting global water solutions and applying them to local needs

Arup’s expertise in water draws from our global experiences designing, implementing, and maintaining
water infrastructure. This week our Communications team spoke with Rémi Drouot and Charles
(Chuck) Ormsby about water management trends and how such global best water practices can be
adapted to local contexts.

Meet our experts

Rémi Drouot is an expert in the
development and implementation
of environmental concepts for
sustainable stormwater management,
strengthening resilience against climate
change. Integrating concepts using
his planning and design skills, Rémi
has contributed to making emblematic
urban design projects in Montréal.
Charles Ormsby has designed
landmark urban infrastructure and
developed sustainability strategies
for cities and developers across
the world, with a particular skill in
leveraging water to play a key role in
unifying a project’s social, economic
and environmental outcomes.

Chuck describes how Montréal has adapted Arup’s Design with Water framework to serve local needs by
developing five benchmarks which they strive to incorporate in each of their projects:
• Returning water to the earth
• Supplying water for life
• Protecting from floods
• Acknowledging water as a valuable resource
• Reconnecting people with water.

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 Design with Water approach Integrated water management strategy developed by Arupians in Montréal

A growing need for integrated water management

There is a growing need for integrated water management, and many cities have come to Arup for our
water expertise. For example, the City of Montréal came directly to Arup to develop a water management
strategy for William Daw Place, a new urban square in the city center. Our engineers saw an opportunity
for synergy by combining the water system of the public square with that of a neighboring building. In
this manner, the building and the square could mutually benefit from a reduced reliance on potable water
supply and cost savings linked to a merged stormwater storage solution. The city welcomed this approach
and committed to working through the red tape associated with this new way of looking beyond property
boundaries to achieve greater outcome – a first for the city.
Arup’s approach maximized the amount of rainwater harvested from the combined sites and used this
in a balanced manner with minimal treatment to supply interactive water features and reflecting pools
for the public square as well as satisfy toilet flushing demands in the building. By adopting our design
framework which values water at every stage of its cycle, we also found a way to address multiple SDGs
by incorporating an educational rain garden that will serve as a play space for children, habitat for urban
biodiversity, and shelter from urban heat island effect.

Educating clients on the benefits of integrated water solutions

To ensure buy-in, it is important to educate clients and help them realize the benefits of investing in blue/
green infrastructure and integrated water solutions.
“It’s about guiding clients on a journey toward a more holistic design approach and reassuring them that
this can be done in a feasible and economic way,” says Chuck.
Arup was able to help our Design-Build client find the most optimal storm water management solution
in the Edmonton Valley Line LRT project by educating them about green infrastructure best practices,
project-specific opportunities and risks, design and construction requirements, maintenance implications,
and economic benefits. Helping the client look at the project in a holistic manner allowed them to see

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the real cost savings of the sustainable drainage proposal rather than mistakenly accept artificially high
capital cost estimates that come with the traditional siloed approach. As the drainage design leader, Arup
implemented green infrastructure in the form of rain gardens, ponds, bioswales, and more along the
17-kilometer-long corridor after showing the contractor that this was the most cost-effective solution and
agreeing on this novel approach with city officials.

Sustainable and resilient design trends

There is a trend to design for future conditions as the
effects of climate change become more apparent and
as people realize the importance of sustainability and
resilience. Creating solutions using green infrastructure is
a great way to cope with climate change and its impacts,
while bringing nature back into the city and creating a
lively urban environment. It enables us to control floods
more efficiently but also to return water of high quality to
the natural environment, often at a lesser cost.
For example, the sustainable green infrastructure
features we designed for the Green Parking Lot at Laval
Hospital help combat climate change, minimize the
urban heat island effect, promote biodiversity, and create
a more inclusive environment. The Green Parking Lot
also features best practices in sustainable stormwater
management, electric vehicle charging stations, LED
lighting, and pedestrian-friendly crosswalks and walking
aisles. Hospitals often need more parking, and through
careful design this can be achieved while having positive
Bio-retention planters designed by Arup at Laval Hospital
benefits on the environment and communities.

Applying global practices to local context

The Montréal office is currently working on various urban design projects to integrate and adapt
global best practices within their streetscapes. Canada’s harsh winters create some unique constraints,
necessitating innovative designs that fit within the context of Canada’s weather, while positively impacting
water quality, quantity, resilience, and the overall environment.
“A strategy that works in one place might not work in another,” says Rémi. “To ensure success, we have to
adapt the lessons we learned to local contexts. And that’s what we’re doing here in Montréal.”

Looking to the future

Based on the current trends in water management, Chuck and Rémi have optimistic outlooks for our
water future.
“As a Canadian, I see that we are moving in a positive direction as more cities are looking to global
examples and bringing in those best practices,” says Chuck. “Although different places have different
drivers, from water conservation to flooding issues, it’s about bringing solutions together to serve cities
and local communities.”

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