Water Balance Model facilitates adaptive management approach to implementation of alternative green infrastructure techniques
Note to Readers:
In October 2010, the Okanagan Basin Water Board hosted the ‘From Rain to Resource Workshop in Kelowna. The workshop purpose was to integrate the perspectives of the people working on-the-ground and those developing and adopting policy. A presentation on the technical application of the Water Balance Model was delivered by Jim Dumont, Engineering Applications Authority for the BC Inter-Governmental Partnership that is responsible for the Water Balance Model.
Connect the Dots: Watershed Objectives & Adaptive Management
“The evolution of the capabilities of the web-based Water Balance Model (WBM) has arisen in response to the need to embrace adaptive management in the creation of watershed objectives and to quickly test alternative green infrastructure techniques prior to implementation,” stated Jim Dumont
“The WBM allows the user to quickly establish the existing, or the predevelopment, base line that will become the standard used to measure the performance of future development scenarios during the planning and design of a project. This allows the user to test various methods to establish the easiest and best ways to achieve the most desirable vision of the future for the Site, the Development, or the Watershed.”
Data Inputs for Hydrologic Simulation
“The WBM embeds land use zoning from municipal member partners, soil calculator and a new calculation engine QUALHYMO utilizing the Environment Canada climate data that includes rainfall, snow, temperature and evaporation.”
“The easy access and calculation speed combined with the embedded data and information allows the user to easily and effectively plan and design green infrastructure techniques which will achieve the vision and objectives established for the Site, the Development, or the Watershed,” concluded Jim Dumont.
Connect the Dots: Climate Change Adaptation
“Effective rainwater management is a critical tool for adaptation to climate change – a leading policy concern in British Columbia,” states Anna Warwick Sears, Executive Director of the Okanagan Basin Water Board.
“The goal of this workshop was to share positive and innovative developments in rainwater management and to discuss how barriers to change are being overcome in communities in B.C. and beyond.”
To Learn More:
To download a copy of Jim’s presentation, click on Water Balance Model facilitates adaptive management approach to implementation of alternative green infrastructure techniques (2.3MB PDF)
