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“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. The lens for manual development was the engineering user who wants to follow the numbers from the WBM interface keystroke to the QUALHYMO file. In a nutshell, it is all about data mapping,” stated Richard Boase in 2010.

“A principal result of increased volumes and rates of flow associated with urbanization is the consequent increase in stream erosion,” stated Jim Dumont. “This can be an economically important factor as maintenance and hydraulic capacity is affected, and it can also be an ecologically important factor as habitat is impaired through degradation, aggregation and increased suspended solids transport.”

“The event was an information exchange amongst agencies from across the country,” stated Cate Soroczan. “I would like to see this as the first step toward national and international collaboration on watershed and stormwater management issues. Clearly there are opportunities to learn from each other’s experiences in source protection, BMPs, land use planning approaches, etc.”

“Have a look at some of the Water Balance Model slideshow presentations that have been made to industry and government groups starting in 2001. This includes some of the early presentations on the Water Balance Methodology that helped pave the way for the paradigm-shift from 'peak flow thinking' to 'volume-based thinking'. The many presentations created awareness and influenced expectations,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

The focal point for cross-border collaboration is the new US-based Center for Infrastructure Modelling & Management, the new home for SWMM. “Tools like SWMM and QUALHYMO can enable the hydrologic computations; it is up to us to recognize the need, and to deliver tools that facilitate the analysis. I expect that discussions about methodology will be as much a part of the Centre as the development of new code,” states Jim Dumont.

“The Stormwater Guidebook and Water Balance Model initiatives link directly to land use planning, policy, and regulation,” stated Mayor Barry Janyk. “Use of the Water Balance Model promotes a watershed-based approach that recognizes the relationships between the natural environment and the built environment, and manages them as integrated components of the same watershed.”

The goal is to change land development practices so that sites and subdivisions function hydrologically like a natural forest. “By developing the Water Balance Model, the IGP is meeting its mission of providing local governments and landowners with a ‘decision support and scenario modeling tool’ that is interactive and scientifically defensible,” stated Laura Maclean. “This will help them meet performance targets for runoff volume reduction.”

The ‘date of record’ for formal launch of the Inter-Governmental Partnership (IGP) to ‘make real’ the vision for the WBM initiative is July 17, 2002. On that date the Greater Vancouver Regional District (now known as Metro Vancouver) convened a meeting of representatives from three levels of government. “The defining outcome of that inaugural Water Balance Partners Forum was the decision to fund and proceed with WBM development,” stated Kim Stephens.

“The WBM can be applied to evaluate the hydrologic performance of stormwater source
controls (e.g. bioretention, infiltration facilities, rainwater capture and re-use, green roofs)
and stormwater detention,” stated Dr. Dan Medina. “The output hydrograph generated by the WBM can become an input to a wide range of hydraulic routing models. WBM hydrographs represent a major improvement over conventional hydrologic simulation of urban runoff.”

“We are using the slogan The New Business As Usual to convey the message that, for change to really occur, practices that until now have been viewed as the exception must become the norm moving forward. We have to build regulatory models and develop models of practice and expertise,” stated Dale Wall, Deputy Minister.