Smart Canals and Local Nature Reserves for North Glasgow

The Canal & North Gateway is a joint venture between Glasgow City Council and Scottish Canals. It serves as an exemplar blue-green infrastructure project that is at the cutting edge of how to adapt to climate change issues by managing surface water and flood risk within the urban environment. The primary innovation is the dynamic management of the water levels in both the canal spine and each water management area in response to predicted weather patterns. This allows water to be retained within SuDS features during normal weather conditions, contributing to urban cooling by increasing the presence of surface water during non-flood events. The project significantly improves biodiversity through the creation of new and varied habitats associated with blue-green infrastructure fingers that will extend from the canal corridor into the heart of regeneration sites. These biodiversity enhancements are very visible within the Claypits LNR. Green infrastructure fingers will form a corridor of wetland margins along which flora and fauna can move, extending the link between the rural environment and the heart of the city. Additionally, this intervention will mitigate the predicted increase in rainfall and intensity associated with climate change and will help regulate water quality by avoiding combined sewer overflows into watercourses during storms.