STORMWATER ROUNDTABLE: Re-Inventing Rainwater Management: A Strategy to Protect Health and Restore Nature in the Capital Region
Note to Reader:
Find out how stormwater threatens public health, salmon, shellfish and the survival of orcas. Join Alexander Campbell, Deborah Curran and Calvin Sanborn as they present the new ELC report “Re-Inventing Rainwater Management” and discuss some of the strategies to deal with these and other problems related to stormwater.
Other guest speakers: Dr. Shaun Peck (Former Medical Health Officer, Capital Region District ), Ian Bruce (Peninsula Stream Society), Robert Bridgeman (Friends of Mount Douglas Park Society) and representatives from local government.
Call to Action
“Stormwater runoff regularly triggers Medical Health orders that close beaches in the Capital Region. Stormwater runoff is a major reason why the region’s bountiful shellfish beds are closed to harvest. Runoff has devastated our once-teeming salmon streams – and makes salmon restoration in urban streams nearly impossible,” states Calvin Sanborn, Legal Director of the Environmental Law Clinic at the University of Victoria.
“Stormwater pollutants also threaten other wildlife. For example, runoff poses one of the biggest threats to local orca in their battle for survival.”
“All these problems are the legacy of our obsolete 19th century stormwater management system – a system that fails to respect natural systems and water cycles. However, in recent years rainwater management practices have been developed that can make the 21st century Green City possible – a city that designs rainwater management in concert with natural systems, not at cross purposes.”
The New Business As Usual
“These new ‘smart’ rainwater management practices can solve the problems associated with urban stormwater runoff. The green revolution in rainwater management gives us pragmatic and cost-effective ways to make a better community for our grandchildren,” continues Deborah Curran.
“Modern green rainwater management has been adopted by engineers, developers, planners and governments across North America. British Columbia communities are leading the way in implementing green rainwater management. In fact, many excellent examples of such management have been developed in the Capital Regional District. Bits and pieces of brilliant innovation have been pioneered here.”
The Time to Act is Now
“But it is now time for the Capital Regional District – in partnership with the public and private sector — to implement a region-wide rainwater management strategy. The rewards will be great,” emphasizes Calvin Sandborn.
“If we act now, our grandchildren will benefit dramatically. They’ll be able to walk on beaches free of stormwater fecal contamination. From those clean beaches they’ll be able to spot the occasional orca, still wild in the Straits. They will walk along the banks of local urban streams, awed by the magic of restored salmon runs. They will harvest shellfish from long-closed shellfish beds. They will hike in remote watersheds that would otherwise have been dammed.”
“We can do all of this – but first we need the leaders of the Capital Regional District to take action and establish a rainwater management strategy. On March 4, 7 PM, at the Uvic Law Faculty (room 159) we will be unveiling the strategy that the Veins of Life Watershed Society and the Uvic Environmental Law Clinic propose.”
About the Environmental Law Clinic
The primary mission of the Environmental Law Centre Society, a registered non-profit society, is to provide research and advocacy on public interest environmental issues. The ELC has three main compontents: the Centre, the Clinic and the Club. It is a multi-pronged structure that draws on the expertise and involvement of students, professors, legal practitioners, and environmental activists.
The ELC’s core staff is comprised of the Legal Director, Calvin Sandborn, Program Administrator, Holly Pattison, and Program Director, Deborah Curran. The ELC’s Executive Director, Professor Chris Tollefson, has been the driving force behind the organization since its inception in the early 1990s.
Posted February 2010