CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION: “We treat our watercourses like the gift that they are. We try to do the best we can with how we grow and develop the community while recognizing those watercourses and protecting an important part of our natural system,” stated Samantha Ward, Drainage Manager with the City of Surrey
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. Stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective, and the Story Behind the Story (REPRODUCED BELOW).
The edition published on May 13, 2025 is an introduction to and a high-level overview of Part B of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure in Metro Vancouver from 1994 through 2024. The 100-page Part B is included as an attachment. It is a sweeping narrative that brings to life an era.
Part B feature and consolidates the stories of 13 “green infrastructure influences”. Each of their stories was published previously in 2023-2024 as a series of preview extracts.
STORY BEHIND THE STORY: Regional Team Approach to Municipal Collaboration Powers Change
Some individuals innovate and lead by example while others follow in their wake. Part B of the Green Infrastructure Chronicle elaborates on why 13 key individuals truly merit recognition as “green infrastructure influencers”
Regional “Leaders by Example”
Over the past quarter-century, the 13 have had a collective impact. The process for tapping into their experience, knowledge and wisdom involved conversational interviews. This approach is open-ended and organic. It lets the conversation find its own direction.
Each person reflected on their recollections of how ideas and practices about rainwater management and green infrastructure evolved over time in the Metro Vancouver region as a whole. Aha Moments yielded insights and gems in the form of quotable quotes.
Conversational interviews paint a picture
The actions of these unsung heroes have been instrumental in moving the Metro Vancouver region along the Green Infrastructure Continuum. Sustained and significant defines their collective impact.
Curious to learn more?
Download a PDF of the table in Interviews with Green Infrastructure Influencers that is titled An Introduction to regional “leaders by example”.
Green Infrastructure Journey is a Continuum
The Metro Vancouver region’s Green Infrastructure Journey began in the mid-1990s. The catalyst was the regulatory requirement that the region have a Liquid Waste Management Plan. Once the Minister of Environment approves an LWMP, it is legally binding.
An LWMP has two distinct components: sewage treatment and urban runoff (stream systems). In the 1990s, there was mixed messaging around urban runoff. Is it a pollutant or a resource? This conundrum led to a paradigm-shift in the late 1990s.
The Partnership for Water Sustainability uses the term ‘green infrastructure continuum’ to frame how green infrastructure understanding and the state-of-the-art around it are building on experience and evolving over time.
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City of Surrey is a beacon of innovation and inspiration for drainage and stream protection
The intergenerational nature of drainage experience and evolution in Surrey is unique in the region. The City of Surrey had a 25-yr head start on other BC municipalities. And there has been staff continuity over a 50-yr period.
For this reason, 4 of the 13 interviewees are current or former Surrey staff. Their continuous experience covers the entire 50-yr period.
To Learn More:
Waterbucket eNews stories are structured in three parts: One-Minute Takeaway, Editor’s Perspective and Context for Busy Reader, and the Story Behind the Story. To read the complete 3-part storyline, download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Regional Team Approach to Municipal Collaboration Powers Change.
