Archive:

2008

Commentary on Effective Rainwater/Stormwater Management and Green Infrastructure to Achieve Watershed Health


Commentary on Effective Rainwater Mgmt – April. 2008 (360p)
Local governments in British Columbia have extensive and very specific tools available to them to implement rainwater management solutions. They also have the discretion to use them or not. Decisions about a local government’s appropriate level of involvement in rainwater and stream corridor management must therefore be guided by a set of clear, broadly agreed-upon objectives, as well as an understanding of the need for balance with other competing objectives and interests.

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UDI Luncheon Program introduced Water Balance Model to Victoria development community (March 2008)


“A decade ago, we thought that if we could hold the line for 20 years, we believed that we might be able to improve conditions over 50 years. Early success has given us confidence that this is attainable much sooner,” stated Kim Stephens. “A decade ago, the breakthrough in thinking came when we developed the concept of a Rainfall Spectrum to categorize the rainfall-days that occur each year. This approach helped overcome fear and doubt.”

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Minnesota Stormwater Manual

Published in 2005, the first half of the Minesota Stormater Manual is dedicated to the general Minnesota context for rainwater/stormwater management. The second half of the manual, which includes many diagrams and formulas, is intended mainly for professionals—but homeowners should find useful content as well. The Minnesota Stormwater Steering Committee referenced the British Columbia Guidebook, published in 2002, as an example of an innovative manual. The British Columbia Guidebook was prominently referenced in the 2004 Request for Proposals.

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Re-Inventing Urban Hydrology – Going Back to Basics to Develop New Tools

The volume-based approach that is being implemented in British Columbia picks up the baton that Dr. Ray Linsley (started more than a generation ago. As a professor of Civil Engineering at Stanford University, and later as a consulting engineer, Linsley pioneered the development of continuous hydrologic simulation as the foundation for water balance management.

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Calgary Contributes Funds to Enhance Water Balance Model

The City of Calgary has made an initial contribution of $10,000 towards development of the Water Balance Model for Canada. This will help fund the next leap forward in the evolution of the Water Balance Model – which is to provide the engineering community with ‘one-stop shopping’ for hydrologic and hydraulic modeling. The enhanced tool will help Albertans do a better job of designing with nature to achieve water sustainability objectives.

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Understanding the British Columbia Experience – City of Calgary Convenes Workshop on Rainwater Management

When the City of Calgary's Watershed Management Team developed a Best Management Practices and Source Control Manual, it researched the experience of other jurisdictions. In March 2005, the City convened an internal workshop for its Water and Wastewater Divisions so that City staff could gain a firsthand understanding of the path that British Columbia has followed in managing rainwater runoff, and how it is making a difference in providing higher levels of environmental protection.

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The “new Water Balance Model” was successfully launched at the inter-regional Partners Forum hosted by North Vancouver District (Feb 2008)


“Two rainfall-runoff tools have been merged to create a new tool, the Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYM, that integrates the site with the stream and watershed,” stated Ted van der Gulik. “Funded by the Province of British Columbia, the new tool supports Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual, a provincial initiative to influence the greening of the Built Environment.”

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Inter-Governmental Partnership announces schedule for change-over to ‘Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO’ (Jan 2008)


“The existing Water Balance Model is a planning tool that currently has a site focus,” stated Richard Boase. “Integration of the Water Balance Model with QUALHYMO will now provide drainage engineers with a suite of analytical capabilities, from site to watershed. As of May 1st 2001, the new integrated tool will be available to any all Internet users; and the existing Water Balance Model will be turned off.”

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