TRACK 1, DAY 2
From Pilot to Proof: Two Years of Performance Monitoring on Canada’s First CSA-Compliant Smart Blue Roof
Phil James and Kyle Vander Linden, Credit Valley Conservation (CVC)
Wednesday, April 1, 2026 | 1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. | Hall A
ABSTRACT
Conventional flat roofs on commercial, industrial, and institutional buildings are typically designed to shed rainwater as quickly as possible. This passive approach not only squanders opportunities for rainwater reuse but also contributes to downstream erosion, urban flooding, and strain on municipal infrastructure.
Credit Valley Conservation’s Smart Blue Roof turns this conventional model on its head. As Canada’s first CSA B805-18 compliant active blue roof, this system integrates smart controls, engineered storage, and advanced water treatment technologies to transform a building’s rooftop into a high-performance stormwater management and rainwater reuse system.
Installed atop CVC’s head office, the Smart Blue Roof captures and actively manages up to 40,000 L of rainwater. Through a flexible treatment train that includes filtration, UV disinfection, and chlorination, rainwater is made safe for non-potable indoor reuse. Surplus water is retained on the roof for evaporative cooling, contributing to reduced indoor temperatures and lower energy demand. In peak storm events, the system’s real-time controls help flatten runoff hydrographs, mitigating downstream flood risk.
Over two (2) years of monitoring, the system has been evaluated from the perspectives of public health, building science, and civil engineering. This presentation shares rich performance data on water quality, storage dynamics, evaporation losses, and peak flow attenuation. This presentation will demonstrate the blue roof’s potential to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, conserve water, and reduce utility costs in urban buildings.
As municipalities and building owners seek climate-smart infrastructure solutions, this proof of concept offers a compelling case for rethinking rooftops as active players in resilient water management.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Phil James, Credit Valley Conservation (CVC)
Phil James is the Senior Manager of the Integrated Water Management (IWM) division at Credit Valley Conservation (CVC). The IWM team works closely with a variety of different watershed stakeholders including municipalities to address complex issues such as climate change, urban development, and further intensification of existing urban area. Implementation of green infrastructure low impact development practices within new and existing developed areas helps to build infrastructure resiliency, protect the environment, and support the green economy.
Kyle Vander Linden, Credit Valley Conservation (CVC)
Kyle Vander Linden is a Senior Advisor with the Integrated Water Management team at Credit Valley Conservation (CVC). Based on his 17 years of lessons learned with low impact development (LID) implementation, maintenance and monitoring, Kyle provides LID facilitation, guidance and training to municipalities across Ontario and Canada. Over the last two years, Kyle and colleagues have been operating CVC’s smart blue roof, monitoring its performance and supporting ongoing research with Toronto Metropolitan University.