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Rainwater Management

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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


“There are so many benefits associated with watercourses that go well beyond moving water from A to B. This understanding is reflected in our Biodiversity Conservation Strategy. Without our watercourses, Surrey would feel different. It would not be the place that it is. In the uplands, it is the biodiversity piece. And going beyond just setting a corridor to ask, how can we enhance that corridor to maximize the biodiversity value it brings. On the coast and in the lowlands, we have been focusing on flood resiliency and adaptation,” stated Samantha Ward.

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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


“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. In the Sustainability Charter (2008) we made a commitment that the City would not just ask developers to do things. We said we would do those things on City developments as well. And we would test them at our own cost,” stated Carrie Baron.

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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


“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. 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,” stated Paul Ham.

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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)


“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. This experience was my context when I served on and later chaired the Metro Vancouver Utilities Committee a decade later. The region’s Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan (LWMP) was another learning experience for me,” stated Darrell Mussatto.

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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)


“From green roofs in Toronto to Vancouver’s rain city strategy, Canadian cities are looking to become ‘sponges’ in order to help mitigate some of the effects of extreme rainfall events. The goal is to reverse some of the harm done by decades of car-oriented urban development, which involved replacing natural spaces that soak up water with impermeable infrastructure such as roads and parking lots. Green infrastructure can be incorporated into a landscape in many ways. Across Canada, cities appear to be jumping on board,” wrote Morgan Lowrie.

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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)


“In British Columbia, we are on the right path. But that path seems to be a path less travelled. While many advances have been made in managing rainwater on-site, we have fallen behind US west coast states in protecting streams and reducing risk. Everything is in place in BC. We have led people to it, but we cannot force the uptake. We cannot force the change. The thing that I have found works is not technical. It is RISK MANAGEMENT. That is what will bring about the change. If we can get that discussion going, senior people will follow along,” stated Jim Dumont.

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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)


“The EAP Partnership was set up in a really unique, really valuable and viable way right from the beginning. The Partnership for Water Sustainability made the connections to the three local governments. Vancouver Island University, as a smaller university, is very focused on applied research and community engagement. This is a good fit for the EAP mission. 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,” stated Graham Sakaki.

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EDUCATIONAL PROCESS BRIDGES GAP IN UNDERSTANDING IN ENGINEERING COMMUNITY: “The result is an approach where assumptions and simplifications are understood by both parties and where there is mutual agreement as to their applicability to development site characteristics and the rainwater management objectives,” stated Shelley Ashfield, Director of Operations with the Town of Comox


Comox is a beacon of inspiration for the Town’s water balance approach to land development. Their experience illustrates what it takes to successfully move the land development industry and engineering profession in a new direction. “Opening minds to accept changes in practice is challenging, especially when there is no direct regulatory or prescriptive requirement at the provincial level. Now that the Northeast Comox rainwater management plan is in place, water balance modeling is a requirement, and supporting bylaws help us regulate what developers must do on the ground,” stated Shelley Ashfield.

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ASSET MANAGEMENT BC NEWSLETTER (January 2011):”Actions and targets in Living Water Smart encourage ‘green choices’ that will foster a holistic approach to infrastructure asset management. Protection of a community’s natural resources is emerging as an important piece in Sustainable Service Delivery,” foreshadowed Glen Brown


Glen Brown is the visionary and thought leader who coined the term “sustainable service delivery”. This way of viewing the local government sphere of responsibility changes everything about how local governments do business in an era of rapid change. “Level-of-Service is the integrator for everything that local governments do. What level of service does a community wish to provide, and what level can it afford? Everyone will have to make level-of-service choices. Establish the level-of-service that is sustainable to protect watershed health,” stated Glen Brown.

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ASSET MANAGEMENT FOR SUSTAINABLE DRAINAGE SERVICE DELIVERY: “In the big picture, the last two decades have been characterized by an inability to act on the science. The consequence is a growing Riparian Deficit,” wrote Kim Stephens in an article published in the Asset Management BC Newsletter (October 2022)


“In the 1990s, seminal research at the University of Washington on the science of land use changes produced a road map for protection of stream system integrity. For the past generation of practice, then, communities and practitioners should have known what they ought to be doing. And some have made progress. Land use realities – master drainage planning, integrated stormwater planning, development pressures, etc. – push local government to pay lip-service to the role of the streamside protection zone,” stated Kim Stephens.

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