District of Central Saanich is newest Vancouver Island member of Water Balance Model community (July 2008)
Inter-Governmental Partnership welcomes District of Central Saanich
Abbotsford – The Inter-Governmental Partnership (IGP) is pleased to welcome the District of Central Saanich as the newest Vancouver Island member of the Water Balance Model community of users.
Municipality anticipates model will be used as a decision support tool in development site design
“The District of Central Saanich is in the process of adopting a Surface Water Management Plan Bylaw and we are hoping to incorporate the Water Balance Model as a design tool for developers and builders,” reports Roland Rocheleau, Project Manager.
“The Central Saanich Integrated Stormwater Management Plan, just being completed, is also recommending this model be used as a tool in development site design.”
“The District of Central Saanich is distinguished as the first municipality on Vancouver Island to commission an Integrated Stormwater Management Plan (ISMP) pursuant to the guidelines and recommendations in Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia,” adds Nirmal Bhattacharya, the District’s Municipal Engineer.
About the Central Saanich ISMP
The Central Saanich ISMP encompasses three major drainage catchment areas within the District. The three watersheds are Hagan Creek, Sandhill Creek and McHugh Creek. The total land area in the three watersheds is 3,222 hectares. The total District land area is over 5,000 hectares.
The District is promoting the use of innovative design approaches in the ISMP to restore the dispersal of rainwater runoff flows to near predevelopment levels.
To Learn More:
A map outlining the watershed study area is available for viewing. Click on Watershed Study Area to download a copy. Note: it is a large document that may take several minutes to load.
Doing Business Differently in BC
The Inter-Governmental Partnership comprises three BC Ministries (Agriculture & Lands, Environment, and Community Development), numerous local governments in four regions of BC, three federal agencies, and is now inter-provincial in scope. In addition, the Real Estate Foundation of British Columbia has been a major funder and collaborator.
“We believe that the expanding membership of the IGP reflects the groundswell of support among local governments for doing business differently….so that together we can achieve the Living Water Smart vision for creating liveable communities and protecting stream health,” states Ted van der Gulik (BC Ministry of Agriculture & Lands), IGP Chair.
“We are fostering a growing understanding of the fact that what goes on at a site, in terms of how rainwater is treated, is linked not only to stream and watershed health, but also to our social well-being and aesthetics of our communities,” adds Jay Bradley, 
Chair of the Vancouver Island Coordinating Team, a sub-group of the IGP.
“Unlike the pipe-and-convey approach, the use of source control features is an investment in green value that brings returns for the developer and end-users of a site.”
About Living Water Smart
Released in June 2008, Living Water Smart is the provincial government’s vision and plan to keep British Columbia’s water healthy and secure for the future. An over-arching goal is to encourage land and water managers and users to do business differently.
By 2012, the Province’s expectation is that all land and water managers will know what makes a stream healthy, and therefore be able to help land and water users factor in new approaches to securing stream health and the full range of stream benefits.
“The web-based Water Balance Model is one of the tools that will enable local governments and the development community to do business differently,” states Jay Bradley.
What is the Water Balance Model?
The new “Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO” is unique, bridges engineering and planning, links development sites to the stream and watershed, and enables local governments to establish science-based runoff performance targets.
To Learn More:
Click on the following link to an article in the April 2008 issue of Runoff: Create Liveable Communities and Protect Stream Health: Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO integrates the site with the watershed and the stream.
