Main impacts
Impacts on structures in the fluvial environment can take the following forms:
- Degradation of drinking water intakes
- Breakage and damage caused to buildings and infrastructure by flooding, ice cover and erosion
- Breakage and damage caused to undersized stormwater infrastructure by precipitation
- Changes to the physical features and uses of St. Lawrence access infrastructure
Impacts on ecosystems in the fluvial environment can take the following forms:
- Loss of ecosystem services provided by natural environments
- Loss and deterioration of terrestrial, riparian and aquatic habitat and wetlands
- Changes to the biodiversity of natural environments (invasive alien species, contaminants)
- Increased turbidity and degradation of water quality in habitats (contaminant concentrations)
Impacts on uses in the fluvial environment can take the following forms:
- Disappearance of shoreline communities due to the loss of the structuring economic activities of the tourism industry
- Loss of landscapes and historical, archaeological and cultural sites
- Road flooding and isolation of villages
- Increased insecurity and psychosocial impacts on residents facing increased disasters (stress, dejection, discontent)
- Increased cost associated with climate change when projects fail to take it into consideration in time
- Increased construction costs for built components of the environment
- Limitation of communities’ ability to cover the additional financial cost of maintaining uses
- Degradation of coastal landscapes by protection efforts (adverse impact on tourism)
- Changes to land occupancy as land is gained and lost
- Limitation of communities’ ability to maintain and adapt their traditions and customs
- Creation of conflicts between uses
- Reduction of drinking and agricultural water supply due to lower water levels
- Reduction of water accessibility, leading to loss of uses (swimming, fishing, canoeing) due to lower water levels or higher water temperatures
- Degradation of water quality (bacterial contamination by increases in sewer overflows; oil pipeline breakages) and health risks
- Adjustment of draught of commercial vessels to match variations in water levels and increase in frequency of dredging
- Disturbance of shipping due to lower water levels and ice cover losses (risk of ice jams)
- Extension of the commercial shipping period due to higher water temperatures (later ice cover)
Impacts on ecosystems in the marine environment can take the following forms:
- Changes to marine and coastal biodiversity (composition, abundance, distribution, invasive alien species, addition of species)
- Habitat loss and disturbance due to flooding and erosion
- Changes to the physicochemical properties of the water (acidification, hypoxia, temperature, turbidity)
- Loss of natural environments and ecosystem services
- Loss of natural resources and harvesting areas
Impacts on structures and uses in the marine environment can take the following forms:
- Flooding of shoreline property and loss of land
- Degradation of infrastructure (wharves)
- Loss of unadapted coastal developments and infrastructure
- Road flooding and isolation of villages
- Changes to land occupancy as land is gained and lost
- Disappearance of coastal communities, loss of structuring economic activities and fishing- and tourism-related jobs
- Limitation of communities’ ability to maintain and adapt their traditions and customs
- Increased construction costs for built components of the environment
- Limitation of communities’ ability to cover additional financial costs
- Creation of conflicts between uses
- Increased insecurity related to extreme situations and psychosocial impacts on residents (stress, dejection, discontent)
- Degradation of coastal landscapes by protection efforts (adverse impact on tourism)
- Reduction of access to drinking water due to changes in the salinity front and droughts