Author Archives: Partnership for Water Sustainability

SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS REQUIRE DEEP KNOWLEDGE: “It is mentoring and actively passing on knowledge that allows complex problems to be solved. It will take time. But with a long-term strategy, you will get there,” stated Robert Hicks, a career engineer-planner in local government in the Metro Vancouver region
January 16, 2024 9:00 am Comments Off on SOLUTIONS TO COMPLEX PROBLEMS REQUIRE DEEP KNOWLEDGE: “It is mentoring and actively passing on knowledge that allows complex problems to be solved. It will take time. But with a long-term strategy, you will get there,” stated Robert Hicks, a career engineer-planner in local government in the Metro Vancouver region
Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on January 16, 2024 kicked off the 2024 season of “stories behind the stories” of those who are leading changes in thinking and implementing in BC. Looking ahead, the unifying theme for featured success stories in 2024 is, ask the right questions and LEARN to look back to see ahead.

Context and perspective for the 4-year term for local governments

“Exactly one year ago, we kicked off the 2023 season by welcoming newly elected municipal councillors and regional district directors. With a year of experience under their belts, they should now be increasingly effective in tackling the issues,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

2024 is their “year for decisions” in their 4-term of office

“With what they learned in Year One, will local councils and regional boards throughout British Columbia rise to the moment in Year Two?”

“Will they adopt realistic and achievable plans that lead to affordable and climate-ready housing?”

“Will they grasp the full implications of why the decisions they make today ripple through time, for better or worse?”

“With those questions in mind, this season opener provides context and perspective for the issue of organizational and intergenerational amnesia caused by the breakdown in knowledge transfer. The ramifications of amnesia are cause for concern in an era when systems of all kinds are being subjected to repeated shocks that test their resiliency.”

“Robert Hicks is one of those rare individuals who is able to look back, understand the past and learn from it, and then project far ahead to assess policy implications. One of his strengths as an original thinker is his skill at providing historical context and perspective for ‘the big picture’ of today,” concluded Kim Stephens.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Solutions to complex problems require deep knowledge – musings by Robert Hicks

“An underlying issue for local government is knowledge-transfer,” Robert Hicks mused. “The baby boomers have more or less retired and now you are left with Gen X. But many Boomers continued in senior positions late into their careers, interrupting the chain of succession and knowledge transfer.”

“What we are really saying is that, in the work force, a huge amount of experience has just gone out the door and very quickly. It is unbelievable. And the few people remaining with experience are not necessarily in a position where they can use that experience effectively.”

“And those coming in, the Gen Y or even the millennials, may not have access to past experience. Is there someone to show them how the pieces fit together? Or since they do not own the past, maybe they just feel they can do better with a fresh start? Do they care?”

The elephant in the room is organizational and intergenerational amnesia

“An underlying issue for local government is knowledge-transfer,” Robert Hicks mused. “The baby boomers have more or less retired and now you are left with Gen X. But many Boomers continued in senior positions late into their careers, interrupting the chain of succession and knowledge transfer.”

“What we are really saying is that, in the work force, a huge amount of experience has just gone out the door and very quickly. It is unbelievable. And the few people remaining with experience are not necessarily in a position where they can use that experience effectively.”

“And those coming in, the Gen Y or even the millennials, may not have access to past experience. Is there someone to show them how the pieces fit together? Or since they do not own the past, maybe they just feel they can do better with a fresh start? Do they care?”

Lack of exposure to foundational research

“To illustrate my observation with a personally relevant example, the 2000s stand out as a transformational and consequential period for rainwater management and green infrastructure in the Metro Vancouver region. But I also recognize that changes in policies, procedures or design approaches in the 2000s were the culmination of foundational research in the 1990s.”

“Fast forward to the present. In general, what I am gleaning is that most post-2000 engineering graduates with an interest in green infrastructure would not have been exposed to that foundational research. Without that deep knowledge, would they understand what the real objectives are or why we are pursuing these solutions?”

Superficial understanding has unintended consequences

“It is not just green infrastructure. I am seeing other examples in local government that illustrate losing track of the purpose and not knowing what is realistic. This goes back to BIG PICTURE THINKING. If you just look at things in isolation, you might say it is no big deal. But when you look at things in context, it becomes a big deal because the question is, now how do you fit all of the pieces together?”

“In today’s world, we must increasingly consider solutions in a whole-system context. That means you need broader perspectives. But at the same time, you need the depth behind it.”

The honeymoon is over

“Local governments are dealing with complex problems needing complex solutions. Superficial understandings do not get you to the solutions for complex problems. To get to that complexity, you have to know the background, you have to know the history, you must have DEEP KNOWLEDGE.”

“We are a stage where we have stretched systems to the point where we no longer have those big margins or safety factors that we had in the past. We are bumping up against an infrastructure shortage. The honeymoon is over. We have hit the wall with our existing infrastructure investments. Systems are maxed out to the breaking point.”

The solution is to actively work to transfer knowledge through mentoring

“The notion of a superficial understanding explains the challenge that I am seeing. There are post-2000 graduate engineers coming out of university who are familiar with green infrastructure ideas and concepts, but they do not know the details behind them: details that they did not have to know at university or in their previous jobs.”

“Sure, they understand rainwater management ideas and concepts at a high level. But without the background and history, can they really appreciate the complexity of interactions in a whole-systems approach and why certain targets and approaches were selected while others were not?”

“With the exodus of baby-boomers, there are few left in the work force that know the history and drivers behind many plans, policies and regulations.”

“Mentoring is necessary to pass on foundational knowledge and information. You do not necessarily have to be active in the workforce to be a mentor. But local governments must work at actively transferring that DEEP KNOWLEDGE,” concluded Robert Hicks.

TO LEARN MORE:

To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Solutions to complex problems require deep knowledge.

DOWNLOAD: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/01/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_reflections-on-knowledge-transfer_2024.pdf

GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATOR: “Jim Dumont’s focus is on the analytical tools that produce the numbers that make the case for innovation,” stated Rémi Dubé, former Drainage Planning Manager with the City of Surrey

November 21, 2023 9:00 am Comments Off

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on November 21, 2023 featured Rémi Dubé of the City of Surrey. In the 2000s, he made significant contributions to the evolution of rainwater management and green infrastructure in British Columbia. A noteworthy contribution is the Fergus Creek watershed plan which was the genesis for Surrey’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy and Development Cost Charges Bylaw.

Fish Protection Act was a call to action and Surrey led the way in Metro Vancouver

“The Fish Protection Act was a response to the ‘salmon crisis’ in the 1990s,” states Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director. “Listing of Chinook salmon as a threatened species in Puget Sound was a galvanizing action for cross-border collaboration with British Columbia. We learned from each other.”

“Applied research by Richard Horner and Chris May at the University of Washington at the request of Puget Sound local governments gave us a science-based understanding of the correlation between land development and consequences for salmon.”
“With that foundational understanding as a springboard, in British Columbia we went back to the basics to tackle the root cause of the problems which result when drainage water is intercepted and put into pipes. That was the genesis for the Water Balance Methodology.”

“In the Metro Vancouver region, the City of Surrey stepped up its game to lead by example. Surrey staff were already building on two decades of experience in pioneering new approaches. The transformational Natural Drainage Policy of 1975 gave them a mandate and the salmon crisis compelled action.”

Fergus Creek: a plan with green solutions

“By the late 2000s, Surrey was poised to move beyond pilot projects to a broader watershed-based objectives approach. And they did as of 2008,” continues Kim Stephens. “From that bold leap forward emerged the framework for Surrey’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. The genesis for the strategy was the green solutions concept in the Fergus Creek plan. With adoption of the Biodiversity Strategy in 2014, Surrey established a Canadian first.”

“The innovation in the Fergus Creek plan flowed from collaboration between Surrey engineering and planning staff and with Jim Dumont, a water resource innovator and thought leader. In a nutshell, the team of Rémi Dubé and Jim Dumont pushed the boundaries of accepted practice.”

A focus on stream health

“Fergus was the first of the new generation of watershed plans,” recalls Rémi Dubé. “Our goal was to avoid a cookie-cutter approach that too often is an outcome of this type of multi-year program. Jim Dumont rose to the innovation challenge.”

“Jim Dumont’s focus is on the analytical tools that produce the numbers that make the case for innovation. There is a need for a new approach to hydrologic design, he advocated in the mid-2000s. So, Fergus Creek became the pilot for a runoff-based approach because duration of discharge links directly to stream health.”

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Enhancing biodiversity through green infrastructure solutions in Surrey – conversation with Rémi Dubé

“The City of Surrey has always run a lean operation. It is easy to know what is going on,” comments Rémi Dubé. “We are small enough that we can talk to each other and ask, how can we enhance stream corridors to maximize the biodiversity value they bring?”

Biodiversity Conservation Strategy

“Despite the population density that we have had to accommodate, and the ongoing growth due to the demand for housing, we have to set land aside for community liveability. The Biodiversity Conservation Strategy is pretty much a reflection of that need.”

Strategy provides guidance for watershed actions

“My thinking about neighbourhood concept planning has been shaped by the look-and-feel of East Clayton as it was built compared to what we envisioned with the lofty goals for a sustainable community.”

“There are many side benefits associated with creeks beyond moving water from A to B. You have to take that extra step in terms of land use planning. The intent of the Development Cost Charges Bylaw is to help acquire lands in the corridors that are identified in the Biodiversity Conservation Strategy.”

Fergus Creek: a plan with green solutions

“Fergus Creek was the first of the new generation of watershed plans in the City of Surrey. We wanted a plan that would actually facilitate changes in how land is developed. In other words, what the watershed will look like in future should drive the approach to rainwater management.”

“The Fergus Creek plan showed why and how contiguous greenways make rainwater management easier and provide the land we need to actually achieve multi-purpose outcomes.”

“When Surrey hosted the second in the 2006 Metro Vancouver Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series, we said that the Fergus Creek plan is going beyond what is in the BC stormwater planning guidebook. The phrase stuck.”

How to implement more effective green infrastructure

“Fergus Creek was the inspiration for the Partnership’s Beyond the Guidebook Initiative. At the launch event in 2007, Jim Dumont and I led a mini charrette for engineers and planners.”

“The group exercise explored scenarios for green infrastructure implementation in the Grandview Heights Neighbourhood in the Fergus Creek watershed.”

Getting green infrastructure built right

“In 2008, Surrey Council adopted the Surrey Stormwater Drainage Regulation and Charges Bylaw. Clause 9 in Part 5 gave us the language we needed to establish broader watershed objectives. The City had moved beyond pilot projects!”

“Getting green infrastructure built right – that was the theme for a regional forum that Surrey hosted in early 2009. We designed the forum to start a dialogue between policy-makers and project implementers. The program was built around the HOW question.”

It is a shared responsibility

“HOW will the City of Surrey get green infrastructure built right; and how will a consistent regional approach be achieved in Metro Vancouver? We approached these questions from a shared responsibility perspective.”

“Once we know what we want our watersheds to look like, the next step is to decide what the tools are that will get us there. Watercourses really do drive a lot of what we do in Surrey. “

“The number of natural resource interaction events that we have in Surrey is pretty exciting. We still have salmon runs, for example. It is fun for residents. Without the ALR and watercourses, the city would feel different. It would not be the place that it is,” concludes Rémi Dubé.

To Learn More:

To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Enhancing biodiversity through green infrastructure solutions in Surrey. The downloadable version includes a Bonus Feature – the complete interview with Rémi Dubé.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Remi-Dube-on-green-infrastructure-evolution-in-Surrey_2023.pdf

FROM PILOT PROJECTS TO WATERSHED-BASED OBJECTIVES: “With completion of the Fergus Creek watershed plan, we were at a point where we could integrate engineering, planning, biology, geomorphology and recreation to influence the greening of the built environment,” stated Rémi Dubé, a green infrastructure champion and innovator with the City of Surrey

8:00 am Comments Off

Note to Reader:

Enhancing biodiversity thru green infrastructure solutions

When Rémi Dubé joined the City of Surrey in 2002, he brought his skillset as an experienced water resources engineer to bear as manager of the drainage section responsible for land development planning.

In the 2000s, his drainage leadership allowed Rémi Dubé to make significant contributions to the evolution of rainwater management and green infrastructure. He framed the nature of the paradigm-shift with this statement:

Lands for Green Infrastructure Network

From that bold leap forward emerged the framework for Surrey’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. The genesis for the strategy was the green solutions concept in the Fergus Creek plan. With adoption of the Biodiversity Strategy in 2014, Surrey established a Canadian first.

The next bold leap was the Development Cost Charges Bylaw for Biodiversity Conservation in 2019. This funds land acquisition for the Green Infrastructure Network.

Leaders by example, without fanfare

“At the time, all this stuff was happening when we were doing our regular jobs. We were quite jealous of how other municipalities were highlighting what they were doing,” recalls Rémi Dubé.

“If it was not for the Partnership for Water Sustainability and the waterbucket.ca website, we would not have taken the time to report on what we were doing! We were just doing the job. It was always, one day we should write about it. Really!”

“I remember thinking if we could just write this stuff down. And the only place that we did it was through the Partnership. And once in a while we would go to a conference and present.”

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“The story behind the story weaves quotable quotes by Rémi Dubé to paint a picture. My hope is that readers learn from this look back to see ahead storyline,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director. “This preview is extracted from:

“We will publish this legacy resource early in 2024. The story begins in 1997 with passage of the Fish Protection Act. That is what changed everything.”

Fish Protection Act was a call to action and Surrey led the way in Metro Vancouver

“The Fish Protection Act was a response to the ‘salmon crisis’ in the 1990s,” continued Kim Stephens. “Listing of Chinook salmon as a threatened species in Puget Sound was a galvanizing action for cross-border collaboration with British Columbia. We learned from each other.”

“Applied research by Richard Horner and Chris May at the University of Washington at the request of Puget Sound local governments gave us a science-based understanding of the correlation between land development and consequences for salmon.”
“With that foundational understanding as a springboard, in British Columbia we went back to the basics to tackle the root cause of the problems which result when drainage water is intercepted and put into pipes. That was the genesis for the Water Balance Methodology.”

A message of hope

“One of my favourite memories of Rémi Dubé in action was in 2007 when we represented British Columbia on a cross-border panel at a conference in Seattle. There was a despair in Puget Sound. But we had a good news story.”

“Rémi had a message of hope when he explained what Surrey was doing. Our efforts in the Lower Mainland region to integrate rainwater management and land use is what differentiated us from Washington State,” concluded Kim Stephens.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Enhancing biodiversity through green infrastructure solutions in Surrey – conversation with Rémi Dubé

Biodiversity Conservation Strategy

Strategy provides guidance for watershed actions

Fergus Creek: a plan with green solutions

“The Fergus Creek plan showed why and how contiguous greenways make rainwater management easier and provide the land we need to actually achieve multi-purpose outcomes.”

How to implement more effective green infrastructure

“Fergus Creek was the inspiration for the Partnership’s Beyond the Guidebook Initiative. At the launch event in 2007, Jim Dumont and I led a mini charrette for engineers and planners.”

“The group exercise explored scenarios for green infrastructure implementation in the Grandview Heights Neighbourhood in the Fergus Creek watershed.”

Getting green infrastructure built right

It is a shared responsibility

“Once we know what we want our watersheds to look like, the next step is to decide what the tools are that will get us there. Watercourses really do drive a lot of what we do in Surrey. “

Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Enhancing biodiversity through green infrastructure solutions in Surrey. The downloadable version includes a Bonus Feature – the complete interview with Rémi Dubé.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Remi-Dube-on-green-infrastructure-evolution-in-Surrey_2023.pdf

DESIGNING WITH NATURE IN SURREY TO CREATE A LIVEABLE COMMUNITY WHILE PROTECTING STREAM HEALTH: “We treat our watercourses like the gift that they are. We try to do the best we can with how we grow and develop the community,” stated Samantha Ward, Drainage Manager with the City of Surrey

November 14, 2023 9:00 am Comments Off

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on November 14, 2023 featured Carrie Baron and Samantha Ward. In this era of organizational amnesia and loss of oral history, Carrie Baron and her contemporaries planned ahead, and Carrie successfully passed the intergenerational baton to Samantha Ward as Drainage Manager. This story features both individuals.

Shifting the ecological baseline to replicate a healthy watershed requires boldness

When Carrie Baron retired in 2021, she passed the drainage baton to Samantha Ward.

“Samantha had worked as a drainage consultant for years before joining Surrey in 2014 as an Infrastructure Program Manager. Once she joined Surrey, she saw the bigger picture through the Neighbourhood Concept Plans (NCPs) because she was coordinating all the engineering pieces.”

“When Samantha succeeded me, she already had the bigger picture. So, I did not need to teach her. She has a really good background as a result of reviewing all the ISMPs (i.e., integrated stormwater management plans) completed in the Metro Vancouver region during the first decade. Now it is a matter of where she wants to take things.”

What it means to have a mindset of taking risks and it being okay to fail

“We treat our watercourses like the gift that they are, ” adds Samantha Ward. “We try to do the best we can with how we grow and develop the community while recognizing those watercourses and protecting an important part of our natural system.”

“Other communities may not have the people, resources and budget. So, they may not have the same flexibility that we might have.”

Nature-based Foreshore Enhancements

“We have been fortunate to have political support to allow us to try things. The Living Dyke project on the coast is a current example. We are trying four different concepts. We do not know how well they will perform.”

“The intent is to figure out what works and what does not. Then we can adapt as we move forward. To be successful, you need that work environment where you have the support to be able to try,” concludes Samantha Ward.

To Learn More:

To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Shifting the ecological baseline to replicate a healthy watershed requires boldness. The downloadable version includes a Bonus Feature – the complete interviews with Carrie Baron and Samantha Ward.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Carrie-Baron-on-green-infrastructure-evolution-in-Surrey_2023.pdf

DESIGN WITH NATURE TO RESTORE STREAM HEALTH: “We need to be open to change and learning from nature. We also cannot work in silos. Our best progress comes from working together and solving issues together,” stated Carrie Baron, former Drainage Manager with the City of Surrey

8:00 am Comments Off

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on November 14, 2023 featured Carrie Baron. Leadership and innovation defined her professional career as Drainage Manager at the City of Surrey from 1997 through 2021. Carrie Baron has consistently been on the leading edge in advancing green infrastructure and protecting stream health.

Shifting the ecological baseline to replicate a healthy watershed requires boldness

Carrie Baron has always been a trailblazer. There were few women in engineering when she graduated in the mid-1980s. Leadership and innovation defined her professional career as Drainage Manager at the City of Surrey from 1997 through 2021.

When senior governments cut programs in the 2000s and downloaded responsibilities to local government, the City of Surrey and Carrie Baron stepped up. Her passion and commitment garnered internal support at Surrey to fund data collection and performance monitoring programs. These advanced science-based understanding.

Carrie Baron could always be counted upon to lend her credibility to a good idea. Her efforts helped get multiple regional, intergovernmental, and inter-regional initiatives off the ground. Her record of involvement as a champion of intergovernmental collaboration speaks volumes.

Carrie Baron stands out for another reason. In this era of organizational amnesia and loss of oral history, Carrie Baron and her contemporaries planned ahead, and Carrie successfully passed the intergenerational baton to Samantha Ward as Drainage Manager. This story features both individuals.

Passing of the intergenerational baton

“Surrey is a large organization serving a large population. Surrey has always run a lean operation,” comments Samantha Ward who has been with the City for a decade.

“The benefit is that, even though you are wearing a certain hat or title, there are a half-dozen people in the organization who have similar experience or expertise in the same area as you. And it is no big deal to go down the hall and chat with that person.”

“I think that is part of passing the baton piece; I am able to learn from others and we can solve issues together.”

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“In my experience, three words define Carrie Baron’s engineering career: leadership, innovation and science. Carrie Baron has consistently been on the leading edge in advancing green infrastructure and protecting stream health. She is passionate about learning by doing,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

“Both Carrie Baron and Samantha Ward are valuable sources of oral history. To provide the interested reader with a fuller picture, the complete interviews are included as an appendix to the downloadable version of this edition of Waterbucket eNews.”

Improve planning and engineering practices

“Surrey is one of two Metro Vancouver municipalities that have a history of leadership over decades in:

undertaking original and science-based research,
doing demonstration applications, and
hosting “convening for actions” forums for peer-based learning on multiple occasions.”

“Carrie Baron played a leadership role in getting multiple intergovernmental initiatives off the ground. Among her many contributions that earned Carrie recognition as a Lifetime Member of the Partnership, three stand out:

founding partner in the Water Balance Express program.
founding representative for the Metro Vancouver region in the Georgia Basin Inter-Regional Education Initiative (IREI); and
hosting and co-developing the curriculum for the Course on the ISMP Course Correction.”

“The other municipality is the District of North Vancouver where Richard Boase is the champion. He and Carrie Baron collaborated to provide peer-based learning. But that is a story for another day.”

Quotable Quote:

“The more you learn, the more you try to bring in,” says Carrie Baron. “That was always the key – we knew that as technology advanced and we learned more, we had to change.”

Story of the Metro Vancouver region’s Green Infrastructure Journey (1997-2023)

The “story behind the story” that follows weaves quotable quotes by Carrie Baron and Samantha Ward into a succinct storyline. This preview about the Surrey experience is extracted from:

“This legacy resource will be published early in 2024. There is so much oral history to be documented. It is a story that begins in 1997 with passage of the Fish Protection Act. However, the genesis is actually the 1970s. Thus, the story is truly intergenerational in nature,” concludes Kim Stephens.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Shifting the ecological baseline requires boldness – conversations with Carrie Baron and Samantha Ward about their Surrey experience

“When I reflect on my career, it is with a sense of satisfaction because of the enjoyable opportunities I had to work on a variety of issues. These opportunities allowed me to push forward science and incorporate new ideas and concepts,” says Carrie Baron.

“Our society is always changing, and we need to be open to change and learning from nature. We also cannot work in silos. Our best progress comes from working together and solving issues together. Younger staff also need to move forward with their ideas and concepts.”

Passing of the intergenerational baton

When Carrie Baron retired in 2021, she passed the drainage baton to Samantha Ward.

Biodiversity Conservation Strategy –
guidance for watershed actions

“Led by Stephen Godwin, the City of Surrey’s Biodiversity Conservation Strategy was groundbreaking when it was adopted in 2014,” says Carrie Baron with obvious pride.

“The Executive Summary includes a defining statement that has for a decade provided guidance for watershed-based planning and actions that ultimately create a watershed health legacy.”

Embedding of a collaborative culture

“A watershed-based approach is more than drainage. To be truly integrated, it must be about overlapping layers. It is about what each department can do to support the strategies of other departments.”

“We could do this because Surrey has an embedded team-building culture. Collaboration is the way the city staff do business. It is just natural. Everyone understands what others are doing.”

Good engineering practice is founded on
observation and deduction

“You observe what happens. And then you can try to apply that understanding in your simulations or your designs when building something. Look at things! Do not just sit in a room with a computer.”

“You have got to be out there watching and trying to understand what is happening in nature. I describe this as research with a purpose.”

“Greenfield development is comparatively easy. The real challenge is in restoration of watershed health. Retrofits are tougher to implement.”

What it means to have a mindset of taking risks
and it being okay to fail

“Other communities may not have the people, resources and budget. So, they may not have the same flexibility that we might have.”

Nature-based Foreshore Enhancements

To Learn More:

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/11/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Carrie-Baron-on-green-infrastructure-evolution-in-Surrey_2023.pdf

A SHORT HISTORY OF STORMWATER MANAGEMENT EVOLUTI0N IN SURREY: “By the time I retired in 2008, Surrey was ready to move beyond pilot projects and set watershed-based objectives and targets,” stated Paul Ham,former General Manager of Engineering, City of Surrey
November 7, 2023 8:00 am Comments Off on A SHORT HISTORY OF STORMWATER MANAGEMENT EVOLUTI0N IN SURREY: “By the time I retired in 2008, Surrey was ready to move beyond pilot projects and set watershed-based objectives and targets,” stated Paul Ham,former General Manager of Engineering, City of Surrey
Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on November 7, 2023 featured Paul Ham, former General Manager of Engineering with the City of Surrey. A generation ago, his quiet and unassuming leadership behind the scenes made the green infrastructure movement possible in British Columbia. As chair, he provided the Green Infrastructure Partnership with early credibility.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Surrey’s green infrastructure evolution from pilot projects to watershed-based actions – a conversation with Paul Ham

“When I joined the City of Surrey in 1974, the municipality was looking at a way to deal with its stormwater drainage. The driver for action was the need to protect the agricultural lowlands from flooding caused by uplands urban development,” recalls Paul Ham

“First came the Natural Drainage Policy in 1975. This led to the requirement that every development build a detention pond. The next evolution was the move to community ponds.”

A short history of stormwater management evolution in the city of Surrey

“Ponds were then done on a development-by-development basis. At the time, this approach was described by some people as chickenpox ponds because they were dotted all over the place. Small ponds are difficult to make attractive or be of benefit to the community for alternative purposes. This led to a re-think.”

“The move from there was to get developers to join together to build larger joint facilities. Eventually a Development Cost Charge was introduced where Surrey would take the lead in putting those facilities in, using parks space and soccer fields.”

“After that, the next evolution was the introduction and use of wet ponds for water quality purposes.”

“When different neighbourhoods wanted to move from rural to urbanized zoning, there was a requirement to come up with Neighbourhood Concept Plans and neighbourhood servicing plans. Those would include a drainage plan for the neighbourhood.”

East Clayton Sustainable Community: Game changing for green infrastructure!

“By the mid-1990s, the need for change was clear. The East Clayton Neighbourhood Concept Plan provided the first large-scale opportunity to test a new approach advocated by UBC’s Patrick Condon. Described by Patrick as the future is the past, the approach to drainage embodied a design with nature way-of-doing.”

“It was 1999 when the City of Surrey entered into a precedent-setting partnership agreement with UBC’s James Taylor Chair (Patrick Condon). Our shared vision was to create the Headwaters Project. Often it is referred to as the East Clayton Sustainable Community.”

“Patrick Condon chaired the multi-constituent East Clayton Advisory Committee. It was uncharted territory for everyone involved.”

A once-in-a-generation opportunity

“The 250-hectare East Clayton neighbourhood was designated as urban in 1996. This set the stage for an unprecedented plan to increase residential density, promote social cohesion and maximize affordability and walkability.”

“Guided by Patrick Condon, the Headwaters Project was the first real-life demonstration in BC of how to implement sustainable development principles and performance standards at the neighbourhood scale.”

Surrey then evolved from pilot projects to setting watershed-based objectives and targets

“As years pass, we tend to forget or take the early innovation for granted. We learned a lot from our East Clayton experience, and we adapted our approach in subsequent Surrey neighbourhoods.”

“The East Clayton experience gave us confidence to implement new green infrastructure objectives in the next two plans. Council made green infrastructure practices a condition of the Campbell Heights Economic Development Plan in 1999-2000, and the Highway 99 Corridor Land Use Plan in 2002.

“The Fergus Creek watershed plan followed. It was the inspiration for going beyond the Stormwater Guidebook. Surrey provided core content for the seminar that launched the provincial initiative in 2007.”

“By the time I retired in 2008, Surrey was ready to move beyond pilot projects. Council passed a bylaw which enables setting of watershed-specific performance targets for rainwater runoff volume and rate reduction at development sites.”

To Learn More:

To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Surrey’s green infrastructure evolution – from pilot projects to watershed-based actions. The downloadable version includes a Bonus Feature – the complete interview with Paul Ham.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Eric-Bonham-on-lake-stewardship_2023.pdf
METRO VANCOUVER’S LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN HAS TWO COMPONENTS: “The big-ticket component that gets the headlines is sewage treatment. Equally important is the other component. Green infrastructure is the elephant in the room. It is all about the health of our stream systems,” stated Darrell Mussatto, former mayor of North Vancouver City (October 2023)
October 17, 2023 6:00 am Comments Off on METRO VANCOUVER’S LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT PLAN HAS TWO COMPONENTS: “The big-ticket component that gets the headlines is sewage treatment. Equally important is the other component. Green infrastructure is the elephant in the room. It is all about the health of our stream systems,” stated Darrell Mussatto, former mayor of North Vancouver City (October 2023)
Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on October 17, 2023 featured an interview with Darrell Mussatto, former mayor of North Vancouver City. His time in office coincided with the timeline for the early adopter and leading by example phases of the Metro Vancouver region’s green infrastructure journey. He views the journey through both the regional and local lenses.

Green Infrastructure is the Pathway to Water Sustainability

Darrell Mussatto served on North Vancouver City Council for 25 years from 1993 through 2018, including 13 years as Mayor (2005 to 2018).

His time in office coincides with the timeline for the early adopter and leading by example phases of the Metro Vancouver region’s green infrastructure journey. He views the journey through both the local and regional lenses.

As mayor, Darrell Mussatto was prominent at the regional level. Appointed to the Metro Vancouver Utilities Committee in 2009, for example, he served as chair from 2012 through 2018.

The Utilities Committee provided political oversight for building of regional water supply and sewage treatment facilities. Oversight responsibilities also included the regional strategy for protecting stream systems.

Guided by Darrell Mussatto’s leadership, in the early 2000s the City of North Vancouver embraced a vision for building rain gardens on public and private lands. An enhanced streetscape with rain gardens in “bump outs” became a standard requirement for all re-development projects in the City of North Vancouver.

“The City’s goals are to enhance the city’s streetscapes, restore the health of watercourses, and fulfil regulatory objectives for rainwater management,” he stated in a 2014 interview.

Story of the Metro Vancouver region’s Green Infrastructure Journey (1997-2023)

The past informs the future. It is about looking back to see ahead. In this edition of Waterbucket eNews, we weave a selection of quotable quotes from a conversation with Darrell Mussatto to tell a story.

With the downloadable version of this edition, we include a BONUS FEATURE. It is a preview extract from Create Liveable Communities and Protect Stream Health in the Metro Vancouver Region: Moving Along the Green Infrastructure Continuum. This legacy resource will be published early in 2024.

The bonus is that the complete conversation with Darrell Mussatto is included as an appendix.

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“The past informs the future. To paraphrase what Sir Winton Churchill once famously said, it does help to look back if one wants to see ahead. For many months, this has been my context for conducting conversational interviews in the Metro Vancouver region,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

“In talking to key players in government, both active and retired, I have been trying to understand why we were collectively successful in the 2000s, and what is different now. Looking back, we can clearly see that the 2000s truly was a transformational decade. It offered so much promise and hope.”

“With hindsight, it was fortuitous that after the 2005 local government elections, the Partnership established a mayors and chairs focus group. Thus, we have a written record of the thinking that guided the green infrastructure journey through the 2000s. This means we have a baseline!”

Understand your oral history and frame it to suit the times

“My conversations in 2023 have helped me understand the change in mindset between the “class of 2005” and “class of 2022″. It is a different crowd in 2023. When you look back in order to see ahead, you begin to appreciate the nature of their differences.”

“A lot of things that took place in the 2000s are the building blocks which people have forgotten. As Darrell Mussatto points out in the story behind the story, the loss of understanding is real. In the 2000s, politicians and staff were aligned. This fueled political commitment to take action to achieve a shared vision.”

“A common refrain is that what was possible in the 2000s would not be possible in the 2020s. Times are tough. Those who are in the front lines of local government are embattled, stretched to the limit, and under-appreciated.”

“To find a path forward in these challenging times, you have to understand your oral history and frame it accordingly! Where we have landed on is risk management.”

“We must inspire elected representatives to become champions and do the right thing,” says Darrell Mussatto in his call to action.”

Darrell Mussatto understands the connection between Storm Drains and Stream Health

“Years ago, I prepared a slideshow and met with community groups,” said Darrell Mussatto when he told me his story. “First, I would show photos of catch basins. Do you know where the road runoff goes after it enters the storm drain system? I would ask. Often, there would be a lot of blank looks.”

“Then I would show photos of Wagg Creek. This is where the water goes and look at the consequences. Erosion and channel bank instability. Light bulbs would go on. A common refrain would be: I had no idea, but now I get it’.“

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Green Infrastructure is the Pathway to Water Sustainability – a conversation with Darrell Mussatto

“You get elected, and you start to learn. And you become inspired by what you see happening. I remember when the Fish Protection Act passed in 1997, and municipalities were required to have setbacks in creeks. This happened in my first term on council and was quite a challenge for us,” recalls Darrell Mussatto.

“This experience was my context when I served on and later chaired the Metro Vancouver Utilities Committee a decade later.”

“The city’s rain garden program is a significant achievement. Before, the prevailing mindset was out of sight, out of mind. We started the program to celebrate rain. We recognized that rain gardens have ecological importance. All those rain gardens add up.”

“Neighbourhoods that were initially doubtful experienced the benefits of softened streetscapes where traffic is slower, and streets feel more liveable. People tell me that they love the rain gardens.”

We must inspire elected representatives to become champions and do the right thing

“The Metro Vancouver region’s Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan (LWMP) was another learning experience for me. It is not like I had a burning desire to look into our LWMP and say this is where we need to go. It was all foreign to me. So, I relied on the energy and expertise of others, including Kim Stephens.”

“After I became chair of the Utilities Committee in 2012, I asked Kim Stephens to meet with the committee twice yearly. The committee had gotten to know and trust Kim when he chaired the advisory LWMP Reference Panel.”

“His presentations were critical in helping us understand what we could do as a committee. We saw green infrastructure as something positive. We could grab onto and run with it.”

The loss of understanding among elected representatives at the regional scale is real

“As an elected representative, you go through the years, and you become more involved. And then in my case, 2018 comes along and you are not running for re-election again. After serving 25 years, you are done! That is a big, big shock. Once you are done, you are done.”

“At the regional level, there has been a recent loss of long-term knowledge and experience. The loss of understanding is real. When politicians retire, staff are still there. They provide the continuity. As an outgoing elected person, you rely on the continuity of key staff to keep it all together.”

A better way is needed to pass along knowledge to the newly elected

“The loss of continuity in municipal engineering leadership throughout the region concerns me. Just imagine all the knowledge and understanding that must be re-learned. It has come at a critical time for the future direction of the region.”

“Transitioning to a new council is also a challenge, and always has been. We need a better way to pass along the knowledge we gained to the newly elected ones without them feeling like the old crew are still in charge.”

“We had our time in the office. Now it is their turn to carry the baton and be the champions,” concludes Darrell Mussatto.

Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Green Infrastructure is the Pathway to Water Sustainability. The downloadable version includes a Bonus Feature – the complete interview with Darrell Mussatto!

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/10/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Darrell-Mussatto-on-green-infrastructure_2023.pdf
LOOK AT RAINFALL DIFFERENTLY: “In addition to stormwater management, the ‘sponge city’ model brings other benefits, including increased biodiversity, reduced heat island effect, attractive public spaces and more exposure to nature,” wrote Morgan Lowrie of the Canadian Press (October 2023)
October 14, 2023 11:13 am Comments Off on LOOK AT RAINFALL DIFFERENTLY: “In addition to stormwater management, the ‘sponge city’ model brings other benefits, including increased biodiversity, reduced heat island effect, attractive public spaces and more exposure to nature,” wrote Morgan Lowrie of the Canadian Press (October 2023)
Note to Reader:

Chinese cities are suffering from floods more often than most. At the same time, many cities in China face a serious water shortage. The need to confront both water shortages and urban flooding has created a major infrastructure challenge for Chinese city planners. Widespread adoption of rainwater capture techniques is seen as a way to alleviate drought as well as flooding.

A decade ago, Chinese President Xi Jinping offered a new way to think about flooding and drought. At China’s Central Government Conference on Urbanization in 2013, he announced that cities should act “like sponges.”

Canadian municipalities looking to become ‘spongier’ to catch and absorb rainwater, build climate resilience

“While the concept of building a ‘sponge city’ isn’t new,” wrote Morgan Lowrie, Canadian Press editor/reporter, “it’s an idea that more and more municipalities are embracing as they cope with extreme weather. The goal is to reverse some of the harm done by decades of car-oriented urban development.”

“Green infrastructure can be incorporated into a landscape in many ways, from simple tree planting to rain gardens and more complex bioretention systems that involve layers of filtering. Across Canada, cities appear to be jumping on board.”

To Learn More:

To read the complete story by Morgan Lowrie, download a PDF copy of Canadian municipalities looking to become ‘spongier’ to catch and absorb rainwater, build climate resilience.

Kongjian Yu’s first project, Zhongshan Shipyard Park, blends “rustic landscapes and urban industry”

“Sponge Cities” – a catchy way to describe the goal in restoring the capacity of the urban landscape to absorb water and release it naturally

In 2013, at China’s Central Government Conference on Urbanization, President Xi Jinping injected a new term into the global urban design vocabulary when he proclaimed that cities should “act like sponges” and launched China’s Sponge City program. His proclamation came with substantial funding to experiment with ways cities can absorb precipitation.

And then, in August 2017, the Senate of Berlin released its Sponge City Strategy. It is designed to tackle two issues – heat and flooding – by imitating nature and capturing rainwater where it falls. “During the past 12 years we made quite good progress to install the ‘sponge-city concept’ or ‘decentralized stormwater management’ as we call it in Germany in the daily planning process,” states Dr. Heiko Sieker, urban hydologist.

Meanwhile, the City of Philadelphia is in Year 7 of a 25-year program to implement its Green City, Clean Waters program to create a citywide mosaic of green infrastructure and restore the water balance. Howard Neukrug fundamentally changed Philadelphia’s relationship with nature. “Changing the world—or even one small piece of it—requires a lot of trial and error. We divide the city into communities, needs, types, gradients, opportunities, public, private and quasi-government,” stated Howard Neukrug.

The Landscape Architecture of Kongjian Yu

As an outcome of reintroducing ancient Chinese water systems to modern design, Kongjian Yu has transformed some of China’s most industrialized cities into standard bearers of green architecture. Yu’s designs aim to build resilience in cities faced with rising sea levels, droughts, floods and so-called “once in a lifetime” storms.

“In order to increase the resilience of a natural system, it is important to find solutions beyond the level of the city and even nation. I’m talking about a whole global system, in which we think globally but must act locally,” states Kongjian Yu.

“And at this local scale we have design, which is a meeting point between technology and art where Western systematic thinking is grafted together with traditional Chinese wisdom.”

“The mottos of the sponge city are: Retain, adapt, slow down and reuse.”

“Based on thousands of years of Chinese wisdom, the first strategy is to contain water at the origin, when the rain falls from the sky on the ground. We have to keep the water. The water captured by the sponge can be used for irrigation, for recharging the aquifer, for cleansing the soil and for productive use.”

“It’s important to make friends with water. We can make a water protection system a living system,” concludes Kongjian Yu.

Rethinking our relationship with nature is necessary because…

The warming of the planet’s atmosphere is causing water to move more quickly and disruptively through the global water cycle. Flood, drought, fire, wind and cold – extreme events are becoming the norm. Instabilities in the water cycle are increasingly apparent.

All one need do is reflect on what British Columbia has experienced in 2015, 2016 and 2017. Impacts are magnified by human interventions. We have arrived at a fork in the road.”

“The situation calls for a whole-systems approach to managing the water balance distribution where people live,” states Kim Stephens, Executive Director, Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.

“The risks are too high, and the margins for error too small, to view water and watersheds only through narrow technical lenses. Adapting to changes in the water cycle and restoring the water balance starts with rethinking our relationship with nature.”

Whole-System, Water Balance Approach

“The need to protect headwater streams and groundwater resources in British Columbia requires that communities expand their view – from one that looks at a site in isolation – to one that considers HOW all sites, the watershed landscape, streams and foreshores, groundwater aquifers, and PEOPLE function as a whole system” continues Kim Stephens.

“Inter-governmental collaboration and funding enable the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia to develop approaches, tools and resources; as well as provide teaching, training and mentoring.”

“Our educational goal is to build practitioner capacity within the local government setting to implement a whole-system, water balance approach branded as Sustainable Watershed Systems, through Asset Management.”

And be sure to apply tools and resources!

“The ‘sponge city’ metaphor is powerful and inspirational,” observes Kim Stephens. “As such, China, Berlin and Philadelphia are demonstrating that when there is a will, there is a way. Still, we urge the reader to take a moment to reflect upon their drivers for action – floods and droughts! They have learned the hard way that what happens on the land matters. And now, the ‘new normal’ of frequently recurring extremes has forced them to tackle the consequences of not respecting the water cycle.”

The Challenge

“Opportunities for land use and infrastructure servicing practitioners to make a difference are at the time of (re)development. To those folks we say: share and learn from those who are leading change; design with nature; ‘get it right’ at the front-end of the project; build-in ‘water resilience’; create a lasting legacy.”

“Many land and infrastructure professionals in this province do know in principle what they ought to do. However, there is still a gap between UNDERSTANDING and IMPLEMENTATION.”

“This results in a capacity-building challenge: It is one thing to provide practitioners with tools and resources, It is another matter for them to apply the tools, and use them correctly.”

Mission Possible

“Yes, British Columbia is progressing,” concludes Kim Stephens. “Yet communities could do so much more if they would capitalize on rather than miss opportunities. Apply the tools. Do what is right. Learn from experience. Adapt. Pass the baton.”

“The Partnership spotlight is on how to ‘bridge the gap’ between talk and action. As champions for the Whole-System, Water Balance Approach, we are developing tools and resources for use by local governments.”

The physics are straightforward: 7% additional water volume for each degree of temperature rise. This is the global part. If communities are serious about ensuring RESILIENCY, then the critical strategies and actions are those that relate to water.
START AND END WITH THE STREAM FOR A TRUE MEASURE OF SUCCESS: “The West Coast experience of Washington State, Oregon and California is a counterweight to those who lean to Ontario and Northeastern USA for their experience,” stated Jim Dumont, rainwater management thought leader (October 2023)
October 3, 2023 5:00 am Comments Off on START AND END WITH THE STREAM FOR A TRUE MEASURE OF SUCCESS: “The West Coast experience of Washington State, Oregon and California is a counterweight to those who lean to Ontario and Northeastern USA for their experience,” stated Jim Dumont, rainwater management thought leader (October 2023)
Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on October 3, 2023 featured the clear thinking and innovation of Jim Dumont in evolving the Water Balance Methodology to the point where it underpins a risk reduction approach to protecting streams in a changing climate.

British Columbia is falling behind the West Coast states in protecting streams and reducing risk

Jim Dumont is a pioneer water resources professional who has served as the Partnership for Water Sustainability’s Engineering Applications Authority and has taught professional development courses for Engineers and Geoscientists BC for the past two decades. And to top it off, Jim Dumont is known across Canada and beyond for his knowledge and innovation.

Jim Dumont is an original and critical thinker. Original thinkers are non-conformists, have ideas and the courage to try to change the world. Critical thinking is the intellectually disciplined process of analyzing and synthesizing information.

In the first decade following the release of Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia in 2002, Jim Dumont evolved the Water Balance Methodology through a rigorously analytical approach. This work was founded on case study applications.

His methodical approach to applied research was keyed to a building blocks process. Jim Dumont systemically tested assumptions and verified the numbers to demonstrate how to reduce risk and protect streams.

“We must start and end with the stream for a true measure of success,” says Jim Dumont

“While many advances have been made in managing rainwater on-site, BC communities are failing to utilize practices that directly benefit streams during droughts and floods,” observes Jim Dumont.

“The needs of BC communities closely align with the other west coast areas that suffer from adverse stream flows rather than the degradation of water quality which is the case on the east coast.”

“The western states of California, Washington, and the Oregon DOT require that stormwater management systems maintain stream flow duration to protect against stream erosion and flooding.”

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“In his ‘story behind the story’ essay below, Jim Dumont paints a broad-brush picture. He does this in a way that does not require a technical background to first comprehend and then take to heart. Jim is to the point in answering the question posed in the headline above,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

“Why have the practitioners of Rainwater Management in British Columbia fallen behind the West Coast states?”

Story of the Metro Vancouver region’s Green Infrastructure Journey (1997-2023)

“With the downloadable version of this edition of Waterbucket eNews, we include a BONUS FEATURE. It is a preview extract from Create Liveable Communities and Protect Stream Health in the Metro Vancouver Region: Moving Along the Green Infrastructure Continuum. This legacy resource will be published early in 2024.”

“The past informs the future. In the downloadable version, Jim Dumont explains and reflects on how his science-based understanding evolved through case study applications in Surrey, Langley Township, North Vancouver District and beyond.”

“It is about looking back to see ahead. The preview weaves quotable quotes from a conversational interview with Jim Dumont. We hope readers will find the storyline informative as well as compelling.”

What everyone ought to know:

“The Partnership for Water Sustainability process for understanding and then sharing oral history is one of sifting, distilling, synthesizing and layering the information so that others may learn from the knowledge and experience of these who lead by example.”

“Having a written record of our oral history is essential for handing off as well as embracing the inter-generational baton for green infrastructure and everything else,” concluded Kim Stephens.

STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Why have the practitioners of Rainwater Management in British Columbia fallen behind? – an essay by Jim Dumont

“So, why have the practitioners of Rainwater Management in British Columbia fallen behind practitioners in Washington State, Oregon and California in protecting streams? In answering this question, one must understand how we arrived at this situation and then it will be easy to see a path forward,” states Jim Dumont.

“At about the turn of the 21st century a catastrophic loss of salmon stocks occurred along the west coast. This resulted in job losses and additional stress was imposed on the venerable Orca.”

“Public sentiment and resources were focused on finding the causes and in providing solutions. The public demanded answers and a collaboration of researchers along the west coast added to our scientific knowledge.”

What we learned from the research in biology, geomorphology and engineering

“Biology researchers were searching for the root causes of the loss of salmon on the west coast. They identified the most important factor was the loss of aquatic habitat for fish and their food sources with a poorly understood connection to development intensity in a watershed.”

“Research in geomorphology, the study of stream formation identified that rare floods were not the cause of all changes in a stream forms. It was found that major changes of stream form occurred during floods with a return period as small as a 2-year return period.”

“Engineering research into stream erosion directly linked to friction (tractive force) and easily found that any increase in discharge duration would increase stream erosion. Additionally, development was found to increase the duration of erosion causing discharges in headwater streams, even with the inclusion of stormwater detention ponds.”

As a response to the “salmon crisis”, the Province of BC adopted the Water Balance Methodology to protect streams and property

“In 2002, the provincial government released Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia. The Guidebook demonstrated that changes in rainwater management could be made at a site level by establishing water balance performance targets.”

“This led to significant changes to development practice with the inclusion of rainwater capture and infiltration systems with the sole objective to reduce surface runoff.”

“Reliance was paced on the assumption that infiltration of rainwater would somehow mitigate development impacts without additional research or analysis that included the headwater streams.”

“In practice, this approach follows that used in the more industrialized areas of the eastern portions of the continent where water quality is the most important factor in implementing rainwater management.”

Meanwhile, in all three states on the United States West Coast

“California, Washington, and Oregon progressed further by encompassing the lessons of the three areas of research. In 2008 the California Water Resources Control Board concluded negotiations with the US Environmental Protection Agency and was able to include stream discharge duration in all new stormwater planning and designs.”

“This provided a unique focus based upon the needs along the west coast to mitigate changes in streams while providing flood protection. The Oregon Department of Transportation (DOT) quickly followed with stormwater drainage requirements that included duration of discharges in their projects.”

“Washington Ecology took a bit longer. After introducing the concept of discharge duration in 2001 they formulated an agreement with the US-EPA in 2012 that discharge duration would be included in stormwater planning and designs.”

British Columbia’s provincial government informed local governments about the methodology for “stream discharge duration”

“So, what happened in British Columbia?”

“Why did BC local governments not follow through and learn from the example of the three states along the west coast? In BC, in parallel with the US states we did continue to research the problems and to identify practical improvements to our practice of rainwater management.”

“Beyond the Guidebook 2007: Context for Rainwater Management and Green Infrastructure in British Columbia laid out the basis for an evolution in the Water Balance Methodology to include flow duration.”

“The Ministry of Community Development then sent out a circular to all Municipal and Regional District Chief Administrative Officers, Engineers and Planners regarding the Beyond the Guidebook provincial initiative.”

“For many practitioners it is far easier to simply add ground infiltration measures to existing drainage practices without any updating of regulations and drainage bylaws. This approach has a bias on pollution control through diversion away from the stream and into the ground, with more being better.”

“The stream has not been included in any meaningful manner and the impacts have not been quantified, nor have the effects of any mitigation works.”

What do we need?

“If the stream and ultimately the salmon and Orca are keys in our objectives then we must bring the stream back into our planning and design processes as did California, Washington, and Oregon.”

“We must also update the regulations and bylaws to include flow durations in the stream. This approach has been well researched and documented by those regulators on the US west coast and by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.”

Living Water Smart in British Columbia Series

To download a copy of the foregoing resource as a PDF document for your records and/or sharing, click on Living Water Smart in British Columbia: A window into the green infrastructure journey in the Metro Vancouver region.

DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2023/09/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Jim-Dumont-on-Rainwater-Management_2023.pdf
ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE SERVICE DELIVERY: “Vancouver Island University is all-in because EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is an idea that can change the game with respect to protection or restoration of riparian integrity along streams. And students are excited to contribute to the change,” stated Graham Sakaki of Vancouver Island University in an article published in the Asset Management BC Newsletter (July 2023)
July 22, 2023 2:55 pm Comments Off on ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE SERVICE DELIVERY: “Vancouver Island University is all-in because EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process, is an idea that can change the game with respect to protection or restoration of riparian integrity along streams. And students are excited to contribute to the change,” stated Graham Sakaki of Vancouver Island University in an article published in the Asset Management BC Newsletter (July 2023)
Note to Reader:

The Summer 2023 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter includes an article written by Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC. The article is an interview with Graham Sakaki of the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Research Institute (MABRRI) at Vancouver Island University. The Partnership is handing the baton to MABRRI to be the home for the Ecological Accounting Process (EAP).

EAP will be embedded in MABRRI

“A theme dominating the news these days is the shortage of skilled, trained or qualified people. Investing in people takes patience, commitment and time. There is no shortcut to build in-house capacity,” wrote Kim Stephens.

“The City of Nanaimo, Municipality of North Cowichan, and Regional District of Nanaimo have taken the leap of faith to invest in youth at Vancouver Island University. The mission is to develop next generations of local government staffs so that they have the knowledge and understanding to apply EAP, the Ecological Accounting Process to land use processes.”

“EAP is about maintenance and management (M&M) of stream corridor systems. The spotlight is on outcomes. The short story about EAP is that it provides local government with the methodology and metrics so that they can use “real numbers” to establish annual budgets for line items within Asset Management Plans.”

“The Partnership for Water Sustainability is passing the “EAP baton” to the Mount Arrowsmith Biosphere Research Institute (MABRRI) at Vancouver Island University to be the knowledge keeper. EAP will be embedded in MABRRI.”

Story behind the story

“The story behind the story is about the importance of embedding knowledge of EAP into the youth who are going to be the future of our local governments. The framework that we have set up ensures this will happen,” stated Graham Sakaki, MABRRI Manager.

“There are lots of partnerships that exist for selfish reasons. But the EAP Partnership is selfless, and from all angles. It is a leap of faith for member local governments. Partnership for Water Sustainability commitment to passing the baton is unwavering.”

To Learn More:

To read the complete article, download the Summer 2023 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter.