Tag:

Stormwater Guidebook British Columbia

CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “Think about it – the Reference Panel has influenced the waste committee, the finance committee and the way we make decisions overall. The community benefits when there is ollaboration,” stated Pam Goldsmith-Jones, former mayor of West Vancouver (2005-2011)

September 3, 2024


When the process for updating the Metro Vancouver region’s “Integrated Liquid Waste and Resource Management Plan” commenced in 2008, Metro Vancouver Regional District staff were enthusiastic about the role of the Reference Panel. Because there was trust with staff, and the Reference Panel had the attention of the politicians, the Reference Panel could say what staff could not. There was huge positive value in that. The Reference Panel reinforced desired outcomes with its recommendations.

Read Article

ADDRESSING AFFORDABLE HOUSING’S HIDDEN UTILITY COSTS: “When you go down four, five and six levels of underground excavation for high-rise building foundations, you are intercepting and dewatering the groundwater resource,” stated Robert Hicks, career engineer-planner in local government in the Metro Vancouver region of British Columbia

May 28, 2024


“Land use intensification and redevelopment – where does that water go? I see the answer having two faces for RISK and LIABILITY. You are creating a drainage demand by preventing rainwater from reaching building foundations or removing groundwater at depth. But the other face is the lost opportunity because the water resource is not being managed in either a coordinated or holistic manner. Creating a drainage demand is the more immediate consequence of land use intensification. The loss of groundwater as an option for water supply is a future reckoning,” stated Robert Hicks.

Read Article

REALITY CHECK FOR ADAPTING TO A CHANGING SEASONAL WATER BALANCE: “We must start and end with the stream for a true measure of green infrastructure success. Maintain stream flow duration to protect against stream erosion and flooding,” stated Jim Dumont, rainwater management thought leader (October 2023)

October 3, 2023


For three decades, we have known what we must do. So why are streams still degrading? Why has our region fallen behind Washington State, Oregon and California? And what are the RISKS when we FAIL to get it right? “While many advances have been made in managing rainwater on-site, BC communities are failing to utilize practices that directly benefit streams during droughts and floods. The needs of BC communities closely align with the other west coast areas that suffer from adverse stream flows rather than the degradation of water quality which is the case on the east coast,” stated Jim Dumont.

Read Article