City of Calgary hosted second in series of rainwater/stormwater events organized by the Canadian Water Network
Canadian Water Network Sponsored a Knowledge Translation Strategy
The City of Calgary was the host for the second in a series of three ‘knowledge translation’ events organized by a Canadian Water Network team led by Dr. Hans Schreier and Dr. Sandra Brown of the University of British Columbia (UBC). Held in Calgary in October 2007, the workshop event attracted an audience if 155.
According to Liliana Bozic of the City of Calgary, “The magnitude of the response was overwhelming and took us by surprise. Clearly, there is an appetite on the part of drainage practitioners and others to learn more about rainwater management.” To view the list of topics and speakers, please click on this link to the Program for Calgary Workshop
“Funding provided by the Canadian Water Network is enabling us to bring together a pan-Canadian team of academics and practitioners”, explains Dr. Schreier, For a previous story on the launching of this pan-Canadian initiative in Vancouver in June 2007, click on Canadian Water Network Launches Pan-Canadian Initiative at University of British Columbia Conference.
The Calgary event was comprised of presentations for a day plus a morning. On the afternoon of the second day, there was a guided tour of the City of Calgary’s new Water Centre, followed by a visit to the Currie Barracks Redevelopment.
“The first two events in the series have also made it possible for representatives of provincial steering committees from three provinces to meet in conjunction with the event, and advance an inter-provincial partnership for a national Water Balance Model,” reported Bert van Duin of the Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership.
About the City of Calgary Water Centre
In 2003, the City of Calgary introduced a sustainable building policy which means all public buildings — either new or renovated — must be constructed to meet or exceed LEED’s silver environmental standards rating.
The Water Centre — a 183,000 square-foot, four-storey building to house 400 office staff and facilities for another 400 outside workers — features 100 per cent day lighting, 59 per cent reduction in water use, 58 per cent saving in annual energy consumption resulting in annual savings of approximately $108,000.
Environmental improvements began from the start as a brownfield area, already owned by the city, was used for the project.
