Rainwater Management

”People eagerly embrace the opportunities for engagement and education. They really want to share their thoughts and experiences. Residents have a stake in restoring watershed health. There is so much experience that we can mine. We who live in the watershed are the experts,” stated Soren Henrich.

“The project demonstrates a low cost way to capture, treat and infiltrate stormwater runoff as close to where it falls as possible,” said Mayor Mary Verner. “The storm gardens have enhanced the beauty of Broadway Avenue and improved water quality by reducing the contaminants going to the Spokane River.”

“Our focus was on the technical details of practices in landscape areas that treat rainwater through plant materials and soils by infiltration, retention, detention and evapotranspiration”, states Ed von Euw. “The objective of this project was to reduce information barriers that previously stood in the way of effective implementation of rainwater source controls.”

“Member municipalities will develop a coordinated program to monitor stormwater and assess and report the implementation and effectiveness of Integrated Storm Water Management Plans (ISMP). The program will use a weight-of-evidence performance measurement approach,” stated Environment Minister Terry Lake.

“Outcome-oriented planning is a problem-solving PROCESS. It is not a procedure. It is not a matter of applying a regulation or a checklist. Participants have to be committed to the outcome. Going through a process becomes talent development. Participants have to be committed to the outcome,” stated Tim Pringle.

Louise Towell is a founder of the award-winning Stream of Dreams Murals Society that delivers a watershed education and community art program nationwide. With her persistence and dedication, Louise forged a partnership among streamkeepers, various City of Burnaby departments, local schools, firefighters and developers.

“The genesis for ISMPs was a desire to integrate the community, engineering, planning and environmental perspectives. Local governments knew they had to do business differently to protect or restore watershed health,” states Robert Hicks.

“The consequence of the Department of Ecology's 'flow-duration' standard will be development that will result in exactly the opposite of a healthy watershed,” says Tom Holz.

“In integrating actions at four scales, the intended purpose of an ISMP is to provide a clear picture of how local governments can be proactive in applying land use planning tools to protect property and aquatic habitat, while at the same time accommodating land development and population growth,” states Peter Law.

Video describes how city will deploy green roofs, absorptive pavement, and expanded park space to clean up Philadelphia’s water, and generally make the city a more pleasant place to live.