Windsor-Essex is part of a province-wide review on flood response being done by Green Communities Canada.
A session co-hosted by the Essex Region Conservation Authority and including area municipalities, University of Windsor, the insurance industry and consulting engineers was held Monday.
This area is one of four in Ontario hard hit by flooding that are the subject of the study.
"There are infrastructure improvements needed, but at the same time it's impossible to make infrastructure accommodate events up to an unlimited size, so there are events that are larger that infrastructure won't be able to deal with, that was one issue brought up," says Water Programs Manager with Green Communities Canada, Clara Blakelock.
She says local communities are clearly taking action.
"It seems like there is a lot of work being done in terms of climate change adaptation and planning for infrastructure improvements and a storm water master plan and things like that. I mean the reality is these large infrastructure improvements cost a lot of money and take time to implement. They're not quick fixes."
Blakelock says the heavy floods experienced here have spurred the current responses.
"Windsor seems to be doing more than many areas in the province, because it has experienced flooding recently. I think in communities that haven't yet, it doesn't mean they shouldn't be taking any action, but definitely it seems to take a big flooding event to cause most communities to take action."
The workshop was one of several being hosted across Ontario to gain input on local and provincial issues related to urban flooding, and strategies for addressing them as part of the Ontario Urban Flooding Collaborative.
Thunder Bay, Peterborough and Brantford are the other communities included in the study.