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Home / 2018 / October / 01 / UBC engineers work to protect ecosystems
Policy & Social Change, Research

UBC engineers work to protect ecosystems

October 1, 2018

New research looks at impact of construction on natural habitats

Working with Bow River stakeholders in the Calgary area, UBC Okanagan researchers are investigating ways to reduce the negative impact of construction on sensitive aquatic ecosystems.

“Any work conducted near waterways has a certain amount of environmental risk,” explains Greg Courtice, a doctoral student at the School of Engineering on UBC’s Okanagan campus. Courtice and his supervisors, Professor Deborah Roberts and Instructor Bahman Naser, are working with Bow River stakeholders to better understand the impacts. At the same time, they hope to develop sustainable methods to mitigate the risks.

Courtice says addressing this issue has many challenges and ultimately becomes a “give and take” scenario between the level of sediment control and the length of time spent working in the water.

“The harm from suspended sediment comes from a combination of how intense the release is and how long the exposure occurs,” he adds. “The more we try to control sediment, the longer we have to interact with these sensitive ecosystems.”

Courtice, Naser and Roberts are examining the mechanisms which cause sediment impacts to reduce environmental risk through adjustments to construction processes. Construction in or adjacent to rivers can negatively impact aquatic ecosystems by disturbing sediment that is harmful to fish and fish habitat into the waterway.

“If we better understand these sediment releases, and the exposure risks they create for the aquatic environment, we can better assess our environmental risks. From there we can determine the most appropriate concentration and duration balance while designing more sustainable solutions that work better for both the community and the environment,” says Courtice.

This work has been funded by a grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council in partnership with DFH Enterprises Inc. and donations from the Bow River Trout Foundation.

Media Contact

Patty Wellborn
Media Relations Strategist
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250 317 0293
E-mail: patty.wellborn@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
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UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

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