2015 Water Balance Forum: “Mimic stream flow and duration to limit stream erosion, prevent flooding and improve water quality,” stated Jim Dumont when explaining how to apply the Water Balance Methodology (step-by-step YouTube Videos)
Note to Reader:
The agenda for the half-day forum was structured in four parts.
Segment #3 represented the technical heart of the forum because it involved Jim Dumont teaching the basics of the Water Balance Methodology. He is the Engineering Applications Authority. Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC.
Water Balance Methodology
“People know about the Water Balance Model. It is a tool. But you don’t need to use it. You can use whatever tool you want,” stated Jim Dumont when he commenced his segment of the program.
“Our focus is on the Water Balance Methodology. This is about addressing concerns and comments that some people made in the past.”
“The presentation is structured in bite-size pieces.
“First, we explain HOW the Water Balance Methodology has evolved over the past decade.”
“After that, we show HOW the Water Balance Methodology compares to the latest innovation and requirements in Washington State and California.”
“Finally, we demonstrate HOW to develop and implement performance targets that mimic the natural Water Balance in the watershed and the stream.”
Learn by Doing (Adaptive Management)
Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia, released in 2002, established several North American precedents. One of these was adoption and integration of adaptive management (learn by doing) in the approach to establishing watershed performance targets.
“How do we adapt to changes,” asked Jim Dumont rhetorically. “As our knowledge increases, how do we adapt?”
“Or do we adopt one particular philosophy and never change after that?”
“Well, that’s not what we ought to do. We need to change as we learn. It was this way of thinking that initiated a paradigm-shift in the way we manage rainwater in BC.”
The Take Away Message
“The Water Balance Methodology provides a logical and straightforward way to assess potential watershed impacts resulting from urban development and analytically demonstrate the effectiveness of the methods proposed for preventing and/or mitigating those impacts in the stream using flow duration,” stated Jim Dumont in his closing remarks.
To Learn More:
Download Water Balance Methodology – lessons learned & watershed targets (5.6 MB) to view a PDF copy of the complete PowerPoint presentation by Jim Dumont.
YouTube Videos
The complete lecture by Jim Dumont is posted on YouTube (note: 1 hour and 20 minutes). Click on the image below to access it.
Alternatively, view the presentation in segments. Note that the time durations for the eight segments that follow mostly fall within the range of 4 minutes to 7 minutes.
