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“We have arrived at a good place, but the journey has not been easy. In fact, we had to work our way through some pretty contentious periods. We persevered, we adapted and we progressed. We want other local governments to know about the good, the bad and the ugly of the Coquitlam story so that they may learn from our experience and know that it is okay to stumble,” states Peter Steblin.

“There is a knowledge vacuum in BC. and this has resulted in a gap between awareness of what needs to be done, and the capability of local government staff and others to implement standards of practice that will ultimately achieve the goal of mimicking the natural Water Balance following development,” states Jim Dumont.

“Urban hydrology, as commonly practiced, is an inexact science at best. If we were omniscient, we could do an exact job of urban hydrology. Instead, we rely on engineering judgment and guesswork, ultimately striking a compromise between accuracy and data availability, and resulting in an answer that is close to correct,” says Andy Reese.

By 2002, looking at rainfall differently led the Province to adopt the Water Balance Methodology, initiate a performance target approach to capturing rain where it falls, and initiate changes in the ways rainwater runoff is returned to streams. A year later, this led to development of the Water Balance Model as a scenario comparison and decision support tool. “When Jim Dumont joined the WBM team as Engineering Applications Authority in 2005, it was indeed a milestone moment,” stated Ted van der Gulik. “Year after year, his in-kind contributions are consistent, substantial and invaluable,”

“Rethinking the way we deal with rain and snowmelt in our cities means replacing conventional pipe-and-convey systems with an approach that recognizes rainwater as a valuable resource while, at the same time, reducing runoff volume and improving runoff quality,” states Oliver Brandes.

“The City’s stormwater program offers an opportunity to better understand and explore the connections between rainwater, stormwater, and urban runoff. In addition to being a step into the 21st century, this program is a step towards better respecting and valuing our water resources, so we can better weave the natural water cycle into the fabric of our city,” states Laura Brandes.

The Primer is a ‘bridging document’ because it illustrates how to seamlessly integrate the legal and administrative parts of the Land Development Process through the designing with nature and rainwater management lens. “There is a knowledge vacuum in BC. and this has resulted in a gap between awareness of what needs to be done, and the capability of local government staff and others to implement standards of practice that will ultimately achieve the goal of mimicking the natural Water Balance following development,” states Jim Dumont.

“Capturing the first 0.5 inch of rainfall in green infrastructure is an essential and cost-effective component to complete the vision of zero basement backups, zero overflows, and improved water quality across Milwaukee and beyond by 2035,” wrote Sean Foltz.

“Everything the Partnership does is founded on the proven experience of local government champions who are leading change in BC. Inter-regional collaboration will help everyone go farther, more efficiently and effectively, to achieve these three objectives: design with nature, implement green infrastructure and mimic the Water Balance,” states Kim Stephens.

“DOE calls it the ‘flow-duration’ standard. It more accurately should be described as the 0/100/100 standard. That is, DOE will require ‘0%’ forest set-aside, will allow ‘100%’ hardened surfaces, and will allow ‘100%’ runoff of precipitation falling on a site,” says Tom Holz.