Nature’s Revenue Streams Links Rainwater Infrastructure to Restoration of Stream and Watershed Function

Demonstrate “How to Do It”

Nature’s Revenue Streams (NRS) is a 3-year public-private project, and is a partnership between the District of Saanich and a consortium led by Patrick Lucey (formerly with the University of Victoria and now principal of Aqua-Tex Scientific Consulting Ltd).

This Vancouver Island initiative has obtained the support of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) to fund a portion of the proposed $2.7 million comprehensive program which will link rainwater infrastructure to the restoration of stream and watershed function. The NRS project has a 10-year on-the-ground history of building projects that demonstrate ‘how to do it’.

Alignment with Water Sustainability Action Plan

“NRS will show how urban development can be used as an opportunity to improve watershed and stream health, build/restore aquatic habitat and reduce infrastructure costs for developers and municipalities while also addressing rainwater runoff,” stated Patrick Lucey.

“NRS has considerable synergy and commonality with elements of the Water Sustainability Action Plan, both in terms of approach and green infrastructure deliverables. For this reason, NRS has executed Statements of Collaboration with the Water Sustainability Committee, the Green Infrastructure Partnership, and the Inter-Governmental (Water Balance Model) Partnership. The inter-relationships between the four initiatives will be defined in the months ahead.”

“Building on the groundwork laid by NRS, and to provide certainty and reward for those who are implementing green infrastructure, the Green Infrastructure Partnership intends to promote the linkage between the ‘time is money’ principle and the opportunity to use the savings in interest costs to finance environmental restoration,” added WSC Chair, and member of the Green Infrastructure Partnership.