CHRONICLE OF GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE INNOVATION IN METRO VANCOUVER: “Unless and until land development practices mimic the natural water balance, communities cannot expect to restore the biological communities within streams,” stated Richard Horner, professor emeritus at the University of Washington in Seattle
Note to Reader:
In November 2024, the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia released THE SYNOPSIS for the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver. The Chronicle is a sweeping narrative of the 30-year period from 1994 through 2024. The Chronicle is a layered package comprising four documents: the Chronicle of the Journey, Stories Within the Story, Synopsis and Executive Summary. The target audience for each layer is different.
The Synopsis is the third layer in the cascade. It is oriented to senior managers who have limited time to absorb what they need to know to make informed decisions. The Synopsis is visual and so can easily be skimmed in 20 minutes or less! This extract is from page S12 through S24.
Road Map for Stream System Integrity
“In the mid-1990s, the research program initiated by local governments in Puget Sound and led by Richard Horner and Chris May at the University of Washington shook conventional stormwater management wisdom to its foundation. Their findings inspired development of the Water Balance approach in British Columbia,” wrote Kim Stephens, Synopsis author and Partnership Executive Director.
“So many studies manipulate a single variable out of context with the whole and its many additional variables. We, on the other hand, investigated whole systems in place, tying together measures of the landscape, stream habitat, and aquatic life,” says Dr. Richard Horner, professor emeritus at the University of Washington in Seattle.
‘The enduring legacy of Richard Horner and Chris May is that they applied systems thinking, identified four limiting factors, and definitively established their order-of-priority,” applauds Kim Stephens.
To Learn More:
Download a PDF copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: History and application of a science-based road map for either protecting or restoring stream system integrity, published on March 28th 2023.
Understand the watershed as a whole system
“Working at multiple scales is a must to restore urban streams. You have to go back and address the impacts of legacy development. To move the needle, communities must restore riparian areas,” added Dr. Chris May.
For two decades, Dr. Chris May had a leadership position in Washington State local government – first with the City of Seattle and then with Kitsap County. The latter was his living laboratory. Because he was Director of the Surface & Stormwater Division, Chis May could put science into practice.
To Learn More:
Download a copy of the Synopsis of the Chronicle of Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver from 1994 through 2024. released in November 2024. The Synopsis is structured as six sections.
DOWNLOAD A COPY: https://waterbucket.ca/gi/wp-content/uploads/sites/4/2024/11/Metro-Van-Chronicle_Synopsis_DRAFT_Nov2024.pdf