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Hugh Fraser

    CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER – PART B:“Despite the population density that we have had to accommodate, and the ongoing growth due to the demand for housing, we have to set land aside for community livability,” stated Rémi Dubé, former Director of the City of Surrey’s Building Division


    The intergenerational nature of drainage experience and evolution in Surrey is unique in the Metro Vancouver region. The city had a 25-yr head start on other BC municipalities. And there has been staff continuity over a 50-yr period. By 2009, Surrey had evolved from pilot projects to setting watershed-based objectives and targets. “The Biodiversity Development Cost Charge Bylaw for acquiring and enhancing land in stream corridors has been in place since 2019. Surrey is the only municipality that has one. The work to create the DCC was initiated many years before,” stated Rémi Dubé.

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    DELTA’S RAIN GARDEN PROGRAM FOR STREETSCAPE REVITALIZATION: “The road designers are taking the initiative to incorporate linear rain gardens,” stated Harvy Singh Takhar, Utilities Engineer with the City of Delta in Metro Vancouver


    “By working with the roads people on curb cuts, we have actually come up with variations. Our original detail was quite generic. Now we are able to implement it in various types of curb designs. We are striving to make sure that rain garden maintenance is as easy as possible, including inlets and outlets for drainage. We have evolved the designs so it is EASY CLEAN for all the sediment buildup. Our crews can quickly scoop it with a shovel and be on their way! That change resulted from feedback from engineering operations staff regarding what they wanted to see. We just evolved the design as per their operational needs,” stated Harvy Takhar.

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    DESIGN WITH NATURE TO CREATE LIVEABLE COMMUNITIES AND PROTECT STREAM HEALTH: “Broaden our standards so that we have the plethora of solutions on the table. It starts with education, at both the institutional and government levels, to understand why green infrastructure is necessary. And then, apply those broader solutions,” stated Hugh Fraser, former Deputy Director of Engineering, City of Delta


    “Drainage is but a sub-set of municipal engineering. Historical engineering practice did not consider some of the broader objectives that we now try to address through green infrastructure. Drainage in the context of urban planning and development decisions has historically been an afterthought,” stated Hugh Fraser. “Delta urban areas are built out. The municipality is effectively limited to retrofitting of rain gardens within road corridors in order to provide rainwater infiltration that protects stream health. Road rights-of-way account for one-third of the land area of a typical urban watershed.”

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    RAIN GARDEN INNOVATION: “Delta implemented an integrated design team with Sarah Howie as the landscape architect, a design engineer and drafting staff to work with local stream keepers. Engineering operations staff provided in-field installation and implementation expertise,” stated Hugh Fraser, retired Deputy Director of Engineering, City of Delta


    Shared responsibility is a foundation piece for Delta’s rain garden program. “Everyone in the process, students, designers, managers and constructors, must understand and care about the big-picture goal. This requires an ongoing educational process that instills an ethic. This is a team effort. Nothing would have happened without all working together and continuing to work together. Creating a watershed health legacy will ultimately depend on how well we are able to achieve rain water management improvements on both public and private sides of a watershed,” stated Hugh Fraser.

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