British Columbia and Alberta sign Memorandum of Understanding to advance use of the ‘Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO’ (Nov 2008)
News Release:
Inter-Provincial Collaboration
ABBOTSFORD: The British Columbia Inter-Governmental Partnership (BCIGP) and Alberta Low Impact Development Partnership (ALIDP) are pleased to announce their recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding to cooperate, collaborate and coordinate under the umbrella of an Inter-Provincial Partnership that promotes use of the Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO to support ‘green’ development practices.
Alberta Perspective
“The MOU formalizes a relationship that dates back to September 2004 when BC participation in the Okotoks LID Conference was the catalyst for a number of Alberta agencies coming together to form the ALIDP,” stated Doug Marter (City of Calgary), ALIDP Chair.
“Under the umbrella of the Inter-Provincial Partnership, we can pool resources with other provinces and add to the capabilities of the Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO.”
British Columbia Perspective
“The long-term vision of the Inter-Provincial Partnership is to enable better land use decisions and adapt to climate change by designing with nature,” added Ted van der 
Gulik (Province of British Columbia), BCIGP Chair.
“The Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO addresses some of the gaps in existing models, provides a useful tool for users, and advances knowledge and the state-of-the-practice about rainwater source controls.”
About the Partners:
The BCIGP is a coalition of local, regional, provincial and federal government agencies and not-for-profit associations.
The ALIDP is a broad-based consortium of government, private and non-government organizations and individuals; and is incorporated as a society.
The Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO is a public domain, on-line decision support and scenario modeling tool for promoting rainwater and snowmelt management and stream health protection through implementation of ‘green’ development practices, and can be found at www.waterbalance.ca.
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.
Water Balance Model supports
Living Water Smart & ‘doing business differently’
The Water Balance Model is at the heart of the implementation program for Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual.
This initiative adds depth to Living Water Smart, the provincial government’s vision and plan to keep British Columbia’s water healthy and secure for the future. Through this plan, the Province commits to new actions and targets – and builds on existing efforts such as Beyond the Guidebook.
New Business As Usual
“We are using the slogan The New Business As Usual to convey the message that, for change to really occur, practices that until now have been viewed as the exception must become the norm moving forward,” stated Dale Wall, Deputy Minister (Community Development), when he announced the change-over from the “old” to the “new” Water Balance Model at the Gaining Ground Summit in May 2008.
“We have to build regulatory models and develop models of practice and expertise to support The New Business As Usual”, added Dale Wall.
Protect Stream Health
By 2012, Living Water Smart states 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.
- What does this mean to those involved in land development or redevelopment?
The Province and local government are collaborating to develop a suite of user-friendly tools and approaches for assessment purposes and to provide consistency when reviewing development applications. The web-based Water Balance Model is one of these tools.
