Category:

“Urban land use has been degrading the natural environment for more than 100 years. Sit on that for a while. 100 years, perhaps more. Holy smokes,” wrote Marie Savage. “So what’s all this talk about developers and builders, the ultimate urban land users, protecting watersheds? It’s true. All it took was a twist and a twirl and the connection between runoff, sewers, and the resulting stress on natural systems came out of the pipework.”

“During the late 1960s, BC began its multi-faceted and ongoing journey towards sustainability,” stated Erik Karlsen. “In the early 2000s, inter-governmental partnerships were formed to address environmental challenges; and were supported by protocol agreements between the Province and the Union of BC Municipalities.” Watershed / Landscape-Based Approach to Community Planning, a landmark document, was developed by an intergovernmental working group.

“What gives life to the policy is the fact that, once the natural asset is within the policy, a budget must be set aside for its ongoing management and maintenance, and town staff must work together to preserve its integrity. The Town’s Eco-Asset Strategy recognizes the role of nature as a fundamental component of the municipal infrastructure system, leading to improved financial and operational management plans,” states Emanuel Machado.

“It was through my work as a Provincial Fish Biologist that I became aware first-hand of the issue of water sustainability and watershed health. In the work we did to develop the 2002 Stormater Planning Guidebook, I felt it was important to showcase the science from the University of Washington that linked impacts to fish and fish habitat with changes associated with land development,” recalls Peter Law.

Gibsons is one the first Canadian municipalities to explore managing the natural capital in their community. Their rationale is that natural services have tangible value to the community. “Bringing natural assets into the same asset management system as engineered infrastructure recognizes the quantifiable value they provide to the community and integrates them into the municipal framework for operating budgets, maintenance and regular support,” stated Dave Newman.

The first continent-wide, multi-factor analysis of climate and land cover effects on watersheds in the United States provides a broad new assessment of runoff, flooding and rainwater management options. “We propose the increased use of green infrastructure and best management practices to enhance the resilience of the watershed system,” stated Timothy Randhir.

“In 1996, Richard Horner and Chris May published a seminal paper that synthesized a decade of Puget Sound research to identify and rank the four factors that degrade urban streams and negatively influence aquatic productivity and fish survival. This science-based ranking provides a framework for Integrated Watershed Management,” reports Bill Derry.

“When it rains, the water needs somewhere to go. Ideally, that someplace is a forest or meadow, which filters and absorbs the water into the ground. But when, instead of natural vegetation, we have rooftops and pavement, the natural process is broken and the water runs off, gaining volume and velocity,” write Kaid Benfield.

“We need to understand the sub-systems that are in play between the time that rainfall is received at the top of the tree canopy and the time that it actually gets to the stream as streamflow or other kinds of releases. THAT’S THE KEY TO THE WHOLE SYSTEMS APPROACH,” states Will Marsh.

“The change is here, and it is accelerating. Local governments have an opportunity to adapt and mitigate these changes and improve resiliency of communities within existing legislative authority and current best practices,” states Kim Fowler.