“Re-building the front-end in conjunction with the platform conversion will allow users to select an environment that fits their knowledge and needs. Three launch points will facilitate establishing and integrating performance targets at three scales, namely: watershed, neighbourhood and site,” stated Ted van der Gulik.
“In 2001, it was Patrick Condon of UBC who said: ‘If we fail, it will be a generation before anyone will even have the opportunity to try again; so we must not fail’. Well, we did not fail. And because we succeeded with East Clayton and UniverCity, those hard-fought successes have ultimately made it possible to change land development practices to capture rain where it falls.”
“Because the concept of the Rainfall Spectrum was new territory for drainage engineers, the MAR established a point of departure that was familiar to them so that they would readily make the transition to a new way of thinking – and that is, how to manage all 180 ‘rainfall-days’ in a year, not just one or two extreme storm events.”
“It helps to look back to understand how we got to here. In 2000, DFO released Urban Stormwater Guidelines and Best Management Practices for Protection of Fish and Fish Habitat. It got practitioners thinking about how to capture rainfall in order to reduce runoff volume and protect water quality,” states Corinio Salomi.
“When you think about what is happening with this Water Balance tool in terms of consistency, and in terms of what you might call a consensus standard and agreed approach, it is formulating the problem in a way that is technically defendable…and that is workable,” stated Dr. Charles Rowney.
“As we have been working on the WBM, we only go as complicated as is necessary. We strive to make the tool as simple as possible, but no simpler. It has to be consistent, cheap and workable with limited data. It has to fit the local context; and it has to evolve because we are not at the end point today. The WBM will continue to grow and adapt over time,” concluded Dr. Charles Rowney.
“Local governments in BC are faced with this challenge: the initial capital cost of infrastructure is about 20% of the life-cycle cost; the other 80% largely represents a future unfunded liability. Fiscal constraints provide a powerful impetus for doing business differently to ‘achieve more with less’,” states Richard Boase.
“The WBM Express will open the door to all kinds of educational opportunities. It will be a resource for developers and others to help the public understand the effect of their choices and decisions on the natural environment. It could be incorporated into the curricula for high school and post-secondary institutions,” states Carie Baron.
