DOWNLOAD: Commentary on Effective Municipal Rainwater/Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure to Achieve Watershed Health
Note to Reader:
In April 2008, the Green Infrastructure Partnership and Water Balance Model Partnership jointly prepared a Commentary to assist Metro Vancouver in moving forward with the Rainwater/Stormwater Component of its updated Liquid Waste Management Plan (LWMP). The Commentary portrays the progress that has been made in the Metro Vancouver region since 2001. It also reflects green infrastructure expectations and emerging senior government policy direction.
Create Liveable Communities & Protect Stream Health
“In preparing the Commentary, the Green Infrastructure Partnership brought to the forefront the story of the leadership role that the Metro Vancouver Stormwater Interagency Liaison Group has played over the past decade in building the technical foundation for Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual, a provincial initiative. The Commentary identifies specific actions and commitments for protecting watershed health by means of affordable and effective performance targets,” explains Paul Ham, GIP Past-Chair.
“We have emphasized the connections surrounding ‘why we do it’ – watershed health and all that entails (quantity and quality) and the need for drainage actions to be integrated with all of the other policy and actions, to truly be effective – that is, thinking and integrating regionally down to the site scale”, adds Susan Rutherford. “We believe it is the emphasis on the importance of this integration, and on water quantity and quality, that will make the LWMP Update bold and new.”
Watershed-Specific Performance Targets
“The Commentary is complemented by a second guidance document prepared by the Water Balance Model team,” continues Ted van der Gulik, Chair of the Water Balance Model Partnership, an inter-governmental initiative. “Released at the 2008 WBM Partners Forum, draws on Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia to explain the methodology for establishing watershed-specific performance targets.”
“The litmus test for an acceptable Watershed Target is that the resulting RAINwater management solutions make sense, are affordable and result in net environmental benefits at a watershed scale. For a performance target to be implemented and effective, it must have feedback loops so that adjustments and course corrections can be made over time.”
To Learn More:
To download and read this guidance document, click on Commentary on Effective Municipal Rainwater/Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure to Achieve Watershed Health.
