Dawson's Landing First Residential Community to Build Stormwater Kidney

May 29, 2020 | by nina

Qualico Communities development of Dawson’s Landing in Chestermere is the first residential development in Canada and the World to implement a Stormwater Kidney™. The system cleans stormwater by circulating the water through spaces with a diverse ecosystem of plants and aquatic creatures so that nutrients contained in the stormwater nourish the living organisms.

Qualico has partnered with Source2Source Inc. (S2S) and Magna Engineering Services Inc. (Magna) to implement this technology in its community. Demonstrating a deep commitment to sustainable stormwater management infrastructure that will also provide beautiful and engaging natural spaces for residents to explore.

“Constantly moving water provides unique visual and sound features while keeping the green spaces well irrigated so that the entire environment remains vibrant and resilient even during drought conditions.” Said Clark Piechotta, Associate Director of Development, Qualico Communities.

Qualico would not have been able implement this technology without the City of Chestermere’s support. “Chestermere is built around water and water is the lifeblood of their city. Without their buy in, we would not be moving forward with this pond.” Said Piechotta.

The Stormwater Kidney™ technology was invented by Bernie Amell and Cory Albers from S2S and is founded on decades of project experience between the two of them. The system uses a specialized sediment removal technology called the Nautilus Pond®, which was also invented by Bernie and Cory.

S2S is a Calgary based company that offers clients professional design services and access to these technologies. S2S has also developed a strategic relationship with Magna where S2S is responsible for the strategic design direction and overall look, feel, and performance for the stormwater management system. Magna is responsible for the detailed design and much of the construction services with support as needed from S2S.

The Stormwater Kidney™ system is resilient to both droughts and floods while creating much needed biodiversity and bird habitat within urban settings. The Nautilus Pond® takes up a small part of the stormwater management facility footprint but removes all the problematic sediment from stormwater so that the remaining sensitive spaces in the system can thrive without fear of being smothered by sediment.

“Essentially, a developer like Qualico Communities can propose an innovative, sustainable, and beautiful stormwater management solution that is a win-win with the City approvals staff because it reduces the cost and complexity of managing these systems for the City when the City eventually takes them over.” Said Cory Albers, Co-Owner So