DOWNLOAD A COPY OF: “Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Delta’s rain garden program for streetscape revitalization” – released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in April 2024
Note to Reader:
Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published on April 9, 2024 featured the City of Delta’s rain garden program for streetscape revitalization. Now in Decade Three, the program is driven by a vision for protection of stream health through the use of green infrastructure that captures and sinks road runoff. The story behind the story is told by Hugh Fraser and Harvy Singh Takhar and showcases the passing of the intergenerational baton from Hugh to Harvy.
Hugh Fraser successfully guided the City of Delta through the first two decades of its green infrastructure journey and streetscape revitalization program. He is an original “streetscape enhancement champion” in the Metro Vancouver region.
Delta’s rain garden program for streetscape revitalization
Hugh Fraser successfully guided the City of Delta through the first two decades of its green infrastructure journey and streetscape revitalization program. He is an original “streetscape enhancement champion” in the Metro Vancouver region.
When Hugh Fraser retired in 2021, he handed the intergenerational baton to Harvy Singh Takhar to provide green infrastructure inspiration going forward. Harvy is following his passion in unexpected ways because it was happenstance that led him down the green roof pathway to international recognition.
The Partnership previously featured Harvy S. Takhar in Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Looking at green roofs through a water balance lens, a story published in 2023.
Road designers have a major influence on watershed condition
“Historically, drainage has been an afterthought in urban planning decisions. Neighbourhoods were developed without thinking about drainage in a broader watershed context,” states Hugh Fraser.
“Circa 2000, however, the emphasis became let’s look at this on a watershed basis. For municipalities like Delta with well developed infrastructure, this meant figuring out HOW to retrofit and redesign drainage systems.”
“Road rights-of-way account for one-third of the land area of a typical urban watershed. From the rainwater management and stream health perspective, in Delta we believed that commitment to a rain garden program would make a material difference over time.”
“When Delta re-builds roads, streetscape enhancement is part of the capital budget. For the program to be effective, and the changes in practice to be lasting, everyone in the process must care about the big-picture goal.”
“In the early years, it required constant reminders to staff about the WHY. We asked designers to think about HOW to incorporate something as simple as curb cuts to direct road runoff into boulevard rain gardens. And we added a landscape designer (Sarah Howie) to the engineering design team.”
“I had the privilege of carrying on from Hugh Fraser and Sarah Howie,” continues Harvy S. Takhar. He is one of Delta’s two Utilities Engineers. “It does feel like the rain garden ethic is embedded in the culture of the organization. Curb cuts for drainage is normal practice.”
TO LEARN MORE:
To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Delta’s rain garden program for streetscape revitalization.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/wcp/wp-content/uploads/sites/6/2024/03/PWSBC_Living-Water-Smart_Delta-rain-gardens-and-streetscape-revitalization_2024.pdf