The Story of the 2009 Metro Vancouver Water Balance Model Forum: Living Water Smart and Making Green Choices to Create Liveable Communities and Protect Stream Health
Moving Beyond Pilot Projects
Hosted by the City of Surrey, the Metro Vancouver Water Balance Model Forum attracted an audience of 90-plus on March 12, 2009. The Forum program was built around the HOW question as it pertains to green infrastructure:
- HOW will the City of Surrey get it built right;
- HOW will a consistent regional approach be achieved in Metro Vancouver?
The Forum was co-sponsored by the Water Balance Model Inter-Governmental Partnership and the Green Infrastructure Partnership, with a goal of moving beyond pilot projects to a watershed-based approach to achieving performance targets for rainwater management and green infrastructure.
City of Surrey Perspective
“The Forum was a success,” reports Remi Dubé, Drainage Planning Manager with the City of Surrey, and the individual responsible for developing the morning 
program. “We have been getting some pretty good feedback from many of the people who attended the workshop (specifically developers and consultants). It’s leading into more direct communication with certain developers who are looking at different approaches … they seemed encouraged with the dialogue that the forum appeared to promote.”
The Story of the Forum
The story of the Forum is told in a series of six stories published weekly on the Water Bucket website. These describe the elements of the Forum program, and are consolidated in a stand-alone document titled The Story of the 2009 Metro Vancouver Water Balance Model Forum: Living Water Smart and Making Green Choices to Create Liveable Communities and Protect Stream Health
The Series Explained
In addition to the consolidated summary document, the individual online versions complete with embedded links to other resources can be accessed by clicking on the links below:
- On February 2nd, Story #1 titled Living Water Smart & Making Green Choices to Create Liveable Communities & Protect Stream Health introduced what will be covered in the morning and afternoon sessions.
- On February 11th, Story #2 titled Making Green Choices: Opportunities for Law and Policy to Effect Change on the Ground introduced the shared responsibility theme, and is the bridge from the morning to the afternoon.
- On February 18th, Story #3 titled Green Infrastructure in the City of Surrey: “Getting it built right” elaborated on the learning outcomes for the Forum morning session.
- On February 25th, Story #4 titled Making Green Choices: Use the Water Balance Model to Inform Land Development Strategies foreshadowed how regulators and designers can apply the Water Balance Model to facilitate implementation of green infrastructure solutions.
- On March 4th, Story #5 titled Provincial Context: Today's Expectations are Tomorrow's Standards for Green Infrastructure elaborated on the provincial and regional context that will inform local actions.
- On March 23rd, Story #6 titled Convening for Action in Metro Vancouver to Get Green Infrastructure Built: Moving Beyond Pilot Projects to a Broader Watershed Objectives Approach documented the Forum outcomes.
For more information about the Surrey Forum as well as links to the individual downloadable documents, click on Living Water Smart and Making Green Choices in the Metro Vancouver Region.
Posted April 2009