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Rainfall Intensity–Duration–Frequency (IDF) curves are among the most essential datasets used in water resources management across the globe. Traditionally, they are derived from observations of historical rainfall, under the assumption of stationarity. Change of climatic conditions makes use of historical data for development of IDFs for the future unreliable, and in some cases, may lead to underestimated infrastructure designs. The IDF_CC tool is designed to assist water professionals and engineers in producing IDF estimates under changing climatic conditions. The latest version of the tool (Version 4) provides updated IDF curve estimates for gauged locations (rainfall monitoring stations) and ungauged sites using a new gridded dataset of IDF curves for the land mass of Canada. The tool has been developed using web-based technologies and takes the form of a decision support system (DSS). The main modifications and improvements between version 1 and the latest version of the IDF_CC tool include: (i) introduction of the Generalized Extreme value (GEV) distribution; (ii) updated equidistant matching algorithm (QM); (iii) gridded IDF curves dataset for ungauged location and (iv) updated Climate Models.

Urban flooding associated with extreme precipitation is a significant cause of disaster damages for municipalities, homeowners and insurers in Canada. Several approaches have been applied to reduce urban flood risk at the municipal and homeowner scales, including addressing inflow/infiltration in wastewater systems, accommodating extreme stormwater flows in subdivision design and protecting individual homes from flooding. Insurers have also engaged in managing urban flood risk through interactions with individual policyholders and initiatives aimed at better understanding urban flood risk and risk mitigation options. Requiring mitigation measures at the time of the construction of homes, improving insurance data, application of incentives for appropriate private side retrofits, and improved collaboration between insurers and municipalities for identification of urban flood risk areas provide additional opportunities for urban flood risk reduction. Further, senior levels of governments should support inflow/infiltration reduction and application of climate change information to improve the planning and design of municipal infrastructure.

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