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“While considerable research has been done in the natural environment, very little has been in an urban setting anywhere in North America. We have installed 60 tree canopy climate stations across the North Shore,” stated Richard Boase. “At the end of the day, the project will enable communities to make informed planning decisions about designing with nature. Research results will populate the Tree Canopy Module in the Water Balance Model.”

The plan is based entirely on implementing ‘green solutions’ as an alternative to conventional engineered ‘blue solutions’. “The Fergus Creek plan demonstrates how to protect stream health in the urban environment”, noted David Hislop. “In addition to rainwater capture on individual lots, the strategy for replicating natural infiltration processes includes creation of contiguous large-scale green corridors through the watershed.”

The ‘new normal’ in British Columbia is floods and droughts. What is changing is how and when water arrives. “After a period of relative hydro-climatic stability, changes in the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere have resulted in the acceleration of the global hydrologic cycle with huge implications for every region of the world and every sector of the global economy,” states Bob Sandford.

“BC local governments are faced with three interconnected issues. The first is to manage more effectively infrastructure and assets that underpin quality of life and economic productivity in an era of scarce resources. The second is to contain costs, taxes and risks. The third is to maintain community resilience in the face of challenges, including climatic variability and extremes,” states Kim Stephens.

The event was an opportunity for organizations to highlight tools, resources or other supports they can provide to help local governments to increase capacity and undertake local planning, projects and development. “The UBCM event allowed us to introduce local government elected representatives, especially those elected in the November 2014 election, to the Partnership and to the Water Sustainability Action Plan,” states Mike Tanner.

“Many BC watersheds are either already fully allocated or will be in the next 15 to 20 years. Originally developed for the Okanagan Basin, the Agricultural Water Demand Model is currently operational throughout the southern half of BC. The model is web-based and enables scenario comparisons to assess the implications and impacts of a changing climate, in particular warmer winters and longer summers,” states Ted van der Gulik.

The 2005 workshop resulted in ‘Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation Series in Metro Vancouver and on Vancouver Island during the period 2006 – 2008. “Practitioners in local government want to learn from those who are innovating, and they want to visit projects that are precedent-setting. The Showcasing Innovation Series enabled local governments to tell their stories in a way that no other forum provided,” recalls John Finnie.

“Innovative approaches are needed in order to mitigate the risk of flooding, pollution, and aquatic ecosystem degradation, and enhance beneficial uses of urban waters. To examine such approaches, a series of three regional conferences on innovative rainwater and stormwater management were held in Vancouver, Calgary, and Toronto during 2007 to 2008. Funding provided by the Canadian Water Network enabled us to bring together a pan-Canadian team of academics and practitioners,” stated Dr. Hans Schreier.

“Some of the most valuable take-aways from the workshop for me personally were the reassurance of community support and motivation. The forward thinking visions were inspiring! As an engineer, the technical tools and charts were certainly of interest to me. The cross-learning between a variety of specialists has remained thought provoking since the workshop, and has resulted in me reaching out to my network already,” stated Yvonne Faas.

“The seminar is an opportunity to share lessons learned by the City of Coquitlam over the past decade. Changing the way we do things means taking on new challenges and not always getting it right the first time. Securing political support for a watershed-based approach to community planning paved the way for development and implementation of rainwater management applications that mimic the Water Balance,” states Melony Burton.