Rainwater Management

“Released in 2002, the Guidebook provides a framework for effective rainwater management throughout the province. This tool for local governments presents a methodology for moving from planning to action that focuses on implementing early action where it is most needed,” states Laura Maclean. “The Guidebook approach is designed to eliminate the root cause of negative ecological and property impacts of rainwater runoff by addressing the complete spectrum of rainfall events. The Guidebook approach contrasts with conventional ‘flows-and-pipes’ stormwater management.”

“Now that we have landed on the Riparian Deficit concept, we are able to reflect on the two issues which provided context for the journey: first, engineering measures are insufficient for stream and riparian protection; and secondly, the link to municipal asset management has not been clear. To reach the destination, we had to address and show how to overcome four challenges: one, a lack of measurable metrics; two, confusion over what is an asset versus a service; three, ignorance about how to quantify the financial value of natural assets with real numbers; and four, numerous one-off projects that fail to build improved asset management practice,” stated Tim Pringle.

“Have a look at some of the Water Balance Model slideshow presentations that have been made to industry and government groups starting in 2001. This includes some of the early presentations on the Water Balance Methodology that helped pave the way for the paradigm-shift from 'peak flow thinking' to 'volume-based thinking'. The many presentations created awareness and influenced expectations,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

The third installment of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver covers the period 1997 through 2005. This sweeping narrative weaves quotable quote to tell the story of what led up to publication of BC’s Stormwater Planning Guidebook in 2002, and the impact of what followed in the wake of publication. “Transformation is often fraught with danger. How does one dance with the tiger? You do it carefully, skillfully, courageously, in tune to the same music, advancing step by natural step,” wrote co-authors Mary Altomare and Brian Nattrass.

“It is the modern science of causation which imposes the probabilistic framework for investigating the causal relationship between the climate and/or land use coverage change. The cause-effect relationship is the only way to put to the forefront the desperate need for an understanding of cumulative effects. And thinking about the headwaters when we are making decisions downstream. Cause-effect. The climate is the cause. The effect is the hydrological response. The land use, land cover changes are the cause…and the hydrological response is the effect,” stated Younes Alila.

The story behind the story is about Younes Alila’s Flood Risk Methodology for flood protection. A complementary methodology is Jim Dumont’s Stream Health Methodology for habitat protection. Together they support holistic thinking. “The Stream Health Methodology starts with the stream and ends with the stream. The cornerstone is the flow duration relationship. Engineers routinely extrapolate way, way beyond the limits of the data and then argue fiercely about which curve fitting technique is most accurate,” stated Jim Dumont.

“A unifying theme in conversations with 13 green infrastructure influencers is that staff champions in local government can only carry things so far. Only when someone who is elected takes the lead, and is the champion, does something happen. In the 2000s, everything was in alignment. The right people were in the right place at the right time. There was energy, there was passion. The regional team approach to municipal collaboration brought all the players together for a shared mission. They learned from each other; they moved forward in tandem,” stated Kim Stephens.

Voodoo Hydrology has been an industry staple ever since Andy Reese published his article. “Urban hydrology is stormwater management’s dirty little secret. It has been estimated that one out of every three design plan submittals has significant errors in hydrology estimates but only one in twenty is caught.” says Andy Reese. “The truth is: urban hydrology—including newer Green Infrastructure sizing approaches and even detailed modeling approaches—as commonly practiced, is an inexact science at best. We can just now make the same mistakes at near light speed! “

When Erik Karlsen brought people together, he would cast a magic spell. When he asked you to get involved in an initiative, of course you said yes! A thought leader and change agent, Erik Karlsen turned networking skills into an art form. He had an unparalleled network of connection with Georgia Basin communities – and most importantly, a high degree of trust with those communities. He has a special place in the history of the Partnership for Water Sustainability. was a mover and a shaker in the public service. His legacy is embodied in the continuing work of the Partnership.

The vision for an ecosystem-based approach to land use originated with the Georgia Basin Initiative, a call to action in 1994 to achieve settlement, economy and ecology in balance. “To inspire improved practices in all aspects of land development and water resource management, waterbucket.ca provides universal access to stories about the champions who are leading change. The 20th anniversary of the waterbucket.ca website is an opportunity for celebration as well as reflection. waterbucket.ca has matured into a valuable legacy resource,” stated Mike Tanner.

In his book, Howard Macdonald Stewart documents that, too often in his career as an advisor to the United Nations, he experienced a vital paradise that had become an environmental desert due to ‘business as usual’ decisions. He wrote the book to help readers better understand past decisions and their consequences. “Many books have been written about individual communities and industries around the great waterway, but none have examined the region as a geographical unit with its own dynamic systems, which can best be understood as an interrelated whole,” stated Macdonald.

“I got a call from Don Stenson, Director of Planning with the City of Burnaby. He said there is one thing that I want you to never forget… STORMWATER. What does stormwater have to do with anything, I thought. I knew about contaminated soil and geotechnical issues. But stormwater? I had never encountered the word. But there is no doubt, he went on to say, that it is going to be very important that whatever you build on top of that mountain, the stormwater flows into Stoney Creek must be no worse than they are today,” stated Michael Geller.

“If we are to challenge how urban development has taken place without a deep understanding of our connection to nature, what is a strategy for bringing nature back into cities? How do we put nature first without pushing people aside? The answer is that it is about bringing a body of methodology and practice as to actually how to do it. Nature-First Cities is not a heavy academic book. We wrote it to be inspirational. We challenge readers to understand why we have become so disconnected from nature and what happens when we start to rebuild that connection,” stated Sean Markey.