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Beyond the Guidebook Initiative

Flashback to 2012: Ministry of Environment reaffirmed importance and value of the “Beyond the Guidebook Initiative"


“The Ministry celebrates the Partnership’s latest success in bringing together four regional districts through an Inter-Regional Education Initiative,” stated Cairine MacDonald. “The Ministry looks forward to aligning efforts with the Partnership to further advance implementation of the ‘Beyond the Guidebook’ initiative. Collaboration across regional districts is the pathway to a consistent approach to water sustainability and green infrastructure policies and practices.”

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Flashback to 2012: Historical perspective on the first 5 years of the "Beyond the Guidebook Initiative", released by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in conjunction with provincial government announcement


“There are a lot of times when we in local government like to blame or put on senior governments the responsibility to provide the framework for doing something…but there are things that we in local government can do. We need to choose to be enabled,” stated Ray Fung. “So, what we mean by shared responsibility is that everyone has a role, and everyone can act…. all levels of government, developers, regulators, bureaucrats, consultants, planners, engineers.”

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Flashback to 2009: Ministry of Community Development announced that "Beyond the Guidebook" is an ongoing provincial initiative that supports and/or complements Living Water Smart and Green Communities


“Beyond the Guidebook reflects a ‘design with nature’ approach to climate change adaptation. The initiative builds on the guidance provided in the original Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia. It supports and/or complements other provincial initiatives that will influence the form and function of the built environment and green infrastructure. Collectively, these initiatives establish expectations,” wrote Glen Brown.

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Beyond the Guidebook Initiative: Milestones early in the rollout process (2006 & 2007) provide historical context for evolution of rainwater management practice


The Guidebook’s premise that land development and watershed protection can be compatible represented a radical shift in thinking in 2002. “Through implementation of ‘green infrastructure’ policies and practices, the desired outcome in going Beyond the Guidebook is to apply what we have learned at the site scale over the past five years…so that we can truly protect and/or restore stream health in urban watersheds”, stated Paul Ham in 2007.

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Flashback to 2007: BC's "Beyond the Guidebook Initiative introduced to Vancouver Island audience at Capital Region workshop


“The workshop featured case studies from both sides of the Georgia Basin to facilitate a sharing of experiences. Municipal staff from around the Capital Region were invited, “stated Lehna Malmkvist. “Speakers represented several disciplines and various levels of government staff. We asked Kim Stephens to tie together the ideas from the day by integrating a number of key thoughts, including: where we want to go, where we need to go, and how to get there.”

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FLASHBACK TO 2007: “Beyond the Guidebook Initiative” introduced to Washington State audience at cross-border conference


The City of Surrey’s Fergus Creek watershed plan is a pilot for the Beyond the Guidebook initiative. “The science-based analytical methodology that we have validated through the Fergus Creek process now enables the City of Surrey and other local governments to explore the fundamental requirements both explicit and implicit in Federal Fisheries Guidelines for stream health and environmental protection. We will be implementing ‘green solutions’ as an alternative to conventional engineered ‘blue solutions’,” explained Remi Dube.

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Flashback to 2007: BC’s “Beyond the Guidebook Initiative” introduced at Annual BCWWA Conference


“We have been able to optimize the designs of mitigation works to both reduce the costs and to increase their effectiveness. In this manner we have gone Beyond the Guidebook in a rational and logical manner to reduce the total system requirements and cost,” stated Jim Dumont. “To accommodate the requirement to maintain stream health, advances in analysis techniques have led to a system that provides a quantitative analysis of both the potential erosion and the availability of aquatic habitat.”

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Flashback to 2007: BC's "Beyond the Guidebook Initiative" unveiled at Water Balance Model Partners Forum hosted by Metro Vancouver


Surrey’s Fergus Creek Watershed Plan is the pilot for Beyond the Guidebook. The plan is based entirely on implementing ‘green solutions’ as an alternative to conventional engineered ‘blue solutions’. “The Fergus Creek plan demonstrates how to protect stream health in the urban environment”, noted David Hislop. “In addition to rainwater capture on individual lots, the strategy for replicating natural infiltration processes includes creation of contiguous large-scale green corridors through the watershed.”

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Flashback to 2006: Branding of “Beyond the Guidebook Initiative” commenced with publication of an article in Innovation Magazine, the voice of BC professional engineers


“We must be driven to investigate the problems and issues that stimulated the preparation of the Guidebook,” wrote Jim Dumont. “We are at a crossroad in the path defining the methodologies and applications used in stormwater management. Whether one realizes it or not, there are two paths to follow. The fundamental difference between the two approaches lies in how rainfall data is used.”

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