The Water Bucket Website Partnership reports a 45% increase in user visits after two years of Google Analytics monitoring. The rolling 6-month average exceeds 4000 visits per month. “We attribute this large jump to the cumulative enhancements that the partnership has been systematically implementing,” stated Mike Tanner.
“Physical data is required to undertake the design of any drainage system. This is true whether one uses the WBM or any of a number of alternative analysis systems or computer software packages. The WBM uses the information gathered as part of a normal design process. It does not require the user to have more site information than required by any other system of design,” explained Jim Dumont.
“Richard provided a very engaging presentation to the members of the faculty and students regarding the impacts of single family redevelopment on water supply/demand and rainwater management. His presentation will be immensely valuable to the students as they prepare to venture out into the world as young engineers,” stated Colleen Chan, the Department of Civil Engineering at the British Columbia Institute of Technology.
The manual is a highly navigable online text organized in a manner that allows the user to understand a variety of aspects of the Water Balance Model in varying degrees of detail. “The community of Water Balance Model users had been asking for a technical manual that documents the intelligent WBM interface that translates user information into data used by the QUALHYMO engine,” stated Richard Boase.
“While we need to have volume reduction targets, at the end of the day it is how effectively we apply the suite of available rainwater management tools that will ultimately determine whether we will succeed in protecting stream health at a watershed scale in British Columbia,” notes Corino Salomi
“The Topsoil Primer Set and Water Balance Model are complementary tools,” states Richard Boase. “The Model is a scenario comparison tool. It allows the user to evaluate options for capturing rain where it falls. An absorbent landscape is one of the best ways to accomplish this objective. Once a community has made the decision to protect or restore an absorbent landscape, the Topsoil Primer Set provides guidance on how to make this happen.”
“The Cowichan Valley Regional District is pleased to partner with the province and other local governments to bring the Water Balance Model tool to citizens of the Cowichan Valley,” states Gerry Giles, Chair. “The model is a tool that will help us integrate sound environmental, engineering and land use practices so that we act in a sustainable manner for our community.”
“The Water Balance Model differs from other drainage modelling tools in three fundamental ways: it is web-based; development is driven by the community of users; and it can help create a vision of the future watershed,” states Dr. Charles Charles Rowney. “All three are powerful in their own rights. There is no other comparable web-based tool. Also, the needs and wants of the user community establish priorities for model evolution.”
“A key message is that the Water Balance Model is a ‘scenario comparison tool’. There is no restriction on the scenarios that a user may choose to compare. The tool allows users to make transparent ‘what if’ assumptions to compare pre-development and pre-deforestation conditions,” explained Kim Stephens.
The genesis for the series was a focus group workshop held in October 1997. The coming together of a group of change agents in set in motion a chain of events that has reverberated through time in British Columbia. The vision morphed into a transformational series once Mayor Barry Janyk of the Town of Gibsons became involved. His high profile involvement added political credibility. Mayor Janyk was the moderator for the last three in the series.
