Metro Vancouver $50,000 grant in 2012 enabled Partnership to proceed with "Water Balance Model Express for Landowners"
Integrate the Site with the Watershed and Stream to Protect Stream Health
In mid-September 2011, Kim Stephens (Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability) met with Metro Vancouver’s Waste Management Committee and requested a grant to trigger matching federal funding for development of the Water Balance Model Express for Landowners. Five weeks later, the Metro Vancouver Board amended its 2012 Budget to incorporate a line item for the Water Balance Model.
Regulatory Context
“Metro Vancouver has contributed $50,000 to fund further enhancement of the Water Balance Model because widespread use of this decision tool will help Metro Vancouver and members fulfil our regulatory commitments, in particular those related to integrated rainwater management,” stated Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, Chair of the Metro Vancouver Board, when making the formal announcement in February 2012.
“Actions required of local government are spelled out in the region’s Integrated Liquid Waste & Resource Management Plan, approved by the Minister of Environment in May 2011. Conditions in the Minister’s approval highlight the importance of land use planning in protecting stream health. The conditions focus attention on how the degree, type and location of land development can affect the long-term health of the watershed.”
“The region and members have committed to protecting stream and watershed health. This will be accomplished by managing rain where it falls. Use of the Water Balance Model can help municipalities to define achievable and affordable performance targets at the watershed, neighbourhood and site scales,” concluded Chair Greg Moore.
To Learn More:
To read the complete story posted elsewhere on the Rainwater Management community-of-interest, click on Metro Vancouver contributes $50,000 towards enhancement of the “Water Balance Model for British Columbia”
To download a PDF copy of the PowerPoint presentation by Kim Stephens, click on Regional Commitments and Minister’s Conditions for ISMPs