Changing the Way We Develop Land to Create Liveable Communities and Protect Stream Health
News Release – February 7, 2008
The Inter-Governmental Partnership (IGP) has released the Preliminary Agenda for the Water Balance Model Partners Forum to be held on February 29. The Forum will be the formal launch of the Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO, and will be hosted by the District of North Vancouver in a ‘Town Hall’ setting.
The Forum centrepiece will be an online demonstration of the integrated tool, and the program will comprise three parts to provide ‘structured flexibility’ for effective interaction among Partners and guests:
- Part 1 – Demonstrate: how the integrated modeling tool works
- Part 2 – Feed Back: how the integrated tool can be used to influence land use planning
- Part 3 – Inform: how The New Business As Usual will be implemented provincially
Today’s Expectations are Tomorrow’s Standards
The Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO is a supporting tool for Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual, a provincial initiative to advance implementation of green infrastructure policies and practices.
The Ministry of Community Services is a lead Ministry for rainwater management and green infrastructure. According to Chris Jensen, a Ministry representative on the IGP steering committee, “The Ministry has an increasing role in ensuring that local governments are advancing and changing the ways they plan and design their communities for the better. The mandate of the Ministry has changed somewhat in recent years. Our mission is to promote sustainable, liveable communities. And rainwater management is a key element of green solutions.”
At the Beyond the Guidebook Seminar held in November 2007, Chris Jensen described how the Ministry is leveraging the Green Communities Project to advance green infrastructure province-wide. He presented a road map that foreshadowed how today’s expectations are tomorrow’s standards. He noted that the Province made a conscious decision to create change through practitioner education, and after a decade this approach is now paying dividends.
Create Liveable Communities and Protect Stream Health
The vision for the Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO…as a decision support tool that bridges engineering and planning…is that it will help communities create neighbourhoods that integrate both good planning and innovative engineering designs, for overall greater sustainability (environmental, social, economic).
The Partners Forum will preview the pending Vancouver Island regional pilot for building local government capacity. This entails a soft educational approach to facilitate inter-departmental alignment. The pilot program will focus on how tools underpinning Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual can be applied to create liveable communities and protect stream health.
To download a copy of the news release, please click on this link to Theme for Water Balance Model Partners Forum is 'Beyond the Guidebook – The New Business As Usual'