Let It Rain Conference
A Conference on Managing Rainwater Runoff with Low Impact Development Methods
In March 2005 the Douglas College Institute of Urban Ecology in New Westminster, BC hosted a conference on how to keep rainwater out of the pipes and get it back into the ground where it falls.
Organized by Don Moore, the conference featured case study presentations by rainwater management agencies and practitioners on source control measures 
such as terraced landscaping, rain gardens, exfiltration trenches and pits, roof downspout disconnection, runoff dispersal and permeable pavements.
Don Moore was responsible for constructing the first ‘engineered rain garden’ in British Columbia. This was built at the Wesbild offices on the Westwood Plateau at the end of 2004. It is described as ‘the first engineered’ because it was constructed in accordance with design guidelines developed for Metro Vancouver. Don Moore came up with a practical way to monitor the performance of the rain garden, thereby providing some of the earliest data on the effectiveness of landscape-based measures for rainfall capture.
Drainage Planning has Evolved
A featured speaker was Kim Stephens, representing the Inter-Governmental Partnership that developed the Water Balance Model for British Columbia. He explained what ‘designing with nature’ means and how drainage planning has evolved over the decades in BC. He also explained the “trickle down” evolution of watershed management in BC,
from Stormwater to Rainwater
Paul Cipywynk summarized the day nicely in his blog when he wrote: “Oh, one neat idea that popped up was no longer talking about ‘stormwater management’ but shifting to ‘rainwater management.’ Presenter Don Moore said that MS Word 
always flagged ‘stormwater’ as incorrect, while ‘rainwater’ was OK, and that led him to think about changing all uses of ‘stormwater’ to ‘rainwater.’ It is rain after all, not just storms, and ‘stormwater’ has developed negative connotations, such as flooding. So from now on, no more ‘stormwater management’, its ‘rainwater management’.”
To Learn More:
To download of the brochure for the event, click on Let It Rain Conference: A Conference on Managing Rainwater Runoff with Low Impact Development Methods
To download a PDF version of the presentation by Kim Stephens, click on The Water Balance Model: A Tool for Designing with Nature
