Beyond the Guidebook: Establish Watershed-Specific Runoff Capture Performance Targets

Identify what needs to be done at the site scale to prevent stream erosion and protect stream health

In 2002, Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia articulated a principle that performance targets at the watershed scale provide a starting point to guide the actions of local government in the right direction. The objective is to translate those targets into appropriate site design criteria that then provide local government staff and developers with practical guidance for achieving the goal of stream protection.

Establishing performance targets provides a quantifiable way of measuring success in protecting or restoring a watershed, and for identifying what needs to be done to achieve a certain level of protection for a given watershed.

In February 2008, the British Columbia Inter-Governmental Partnership released a document titled Beyond the Guidebook: Establish Watershed-Specific Runoff Capture Performance Targets to provide guidance in implementing RAINwater management solutions.

“The litmus test for an acceptable Watershed Target is that the resulting RAINwater management solutions make sense, are affordable and result in net environmental benefits at a watershed scale. For a performance target to be implemented and effective, it must have feedback loops so that adjustments and course corrections can be made over time,” states Ted van der Gulik, Partnership Chair.

Posted July 2008