Partnership with University of British Columbia leads to development of ‘Tree Canopy Module’ for Water Balance Model

Inter-Governmental Partnership expands capabilities of rainwater management tool

ANNOUNCEMENT: In 2005, the Greater Vancouver Regional District provided funding so that the Inter-Governmental Partnership (IGP) could further enhance the Water Balance Model for British Columbia by adding a Tree Canopy Module.

According to Ted van der Gulik, P.Eng., IGP Chair (and Senior Engineer, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Land), “For the past three years we have been educating practitioners and others on the importance of soil depth as a rainwater management tool. Looking ahead, implementation of the Tree Canopy Module is the first step in developing a similar science-based understanding regarding the benefits of maintaining a tree canopy in the urban environment.”

Dr. Markus Weiler, FRBC Chair of Forest Hydrology at the University of British Columbia, will have a key role as project advisor. “While considerable research has been undertaken in forest stands in the natural environment, very little has been done in an urban setting anywhere in North America. This initial collaboration between UBC and the IGP therefore opens the door to a long-term partnership to bring science into the community. Because of the urban context for the proposed research, our focus will be on quantifying the interception effectiveness of a single tree versus that for a cluster of trees.”