Category:

“A watershed blueprint helps to create a picture of how to achieve a desired future condition. If communities reduce their ‘water footprint’, and if local government actions ensure the integrity of groundwater flow, they can then protect watershed and stream health. This is a reason for conserving wetlands,” stated Kim Stephens.

“Urban trees have popular appeal and are also highly regulated. Most cities have bylaws that protect mature trees from being cut down and dictate how many trees must accompany new development. There is also increasing research and awareness around the role trees play in urban ecosystems and infrastructure,” wrote Wendy Stueck.

“All the impermeable surfaces in cities create the ideal condition for excess water to overwhelm our already strained municipal stormwater systems. Municipalities, property developers and homeowners must work together to better manage stormwater,” stated Bob Sandford.

“Interflow is often the dominant drainage path in glaciated landscapes of British Columbia. Even undeveloped sites founded on till and bedrock rarely show overland flow because of interflow pathways. The lesson is that the interflow system is an incredibly important and yet fragile component of a watershed. It is critical for maintaining stream health and our fishery resource,” states Al Jonsson of DFO.

“The pioneering work of Richard Horner and Chris May provided a science-based understanding of the importance of ‘changes in hydrology’. The stream health findings by Horner and May gave us a springboard to reinvent urban hydrology. Their work yielded guiding principles that are standing the test of time,” states Peter Law.

“A key feature of planned development at Burke Mountain is a low impact, ‘natural systems approach’ to stormwater management,” stated Don Moore in 2004. “To support this objective, Wesbild has developed a manual that will serve as both a policy statement and a practical guide. Our goal is to integrate practical strategies to naturally balance rainwater volume and reduce runoff from our developed land.”

The ‘design with nature’ paradigm is borrowed from the seminal book by Ian McHarg because it captures the essence of climate change adaptation. Adaptation is about responding to the changes that will inevitably occur. Adaptation is at the community level and is therefore about collaboration.

John Slater MLA (120p)
Living Water Smart sets the direction for changes to use of water and development of land. One-third of the 45 actions in Living Water Smart either require legislative change or would be strengthened with changes to water laws.

Stormwater Management: Using trees and structural soils – manual cover (360p)
Researchers know that urban forests, like rural forest land, can play a pivotal role in rainwater/stormwater mitigation. Structural soil reservoirs may provide new opportunities for meeting engineering, environmental, and greenspace management needs in urban areas.

CRD logo (360p)
The workshop provided an overview of what homeowners can do to manage rainwater on their property.