WATER MANAGEMENT
CONSIDERING
Climate change How tailings ponds designs are changing to factor in extreme weather
By Janice Leuschen
Photo: rippinlines, iStockimages.com
T
he unpredictable intense rainfalls that are part of climate change mean people who design tailings facilities must adjust their design plans to ensure that those facilities can handle the increased water. “Considering weather and climate is not new,” said Charles Dumaresq, vice-president of science and environmental management at the Mining Association of Canada (MAC). “It has been part of best practices around engineering, planning and design for tailings facilities for a long time. The change is that you can no longer rely on the past fifty years of climate to tell you what the next fifty years are going to be.” The intensity duration frequency (IDF) curves, which are derived from past rainfall events and used as a source of data for designing tailings facilities, are becoming out of date because of APRIL 2020
Unfortunately, the effects of climate change (means) storms are becoming more intense, more frequently. – KEN BOCKING, GEOTECHICAL ENGINEER, GOLDER ASSOCIATES
climate change and no longer a reliable source of data. “Unfortunately, the effects of climate change (means) storms are becoming more intense, more frequently,” said Ken Bocking, a geotechnical engineer with Golder Associates that has 32 years of experience in designing tailings facilities. “So clearly the design criteria we use for the spillway needs to be CONTINUED ON PAGE 22
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