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“It is the combination of diverse needs, ideas and solutions that will make the vision for the Center work,” stated Dr. Rowney. “That is one of the reasons we’re so pleased with the agreement just reached with the British Columbia Partnership for Water Sustainability. We have many needs in common, and many ideas to share. The leadership shown by the Partnership has led to a body of knowledge from which others can learn.”

“So what is the nub of the issue? In standard practice, only surface runoff is considered, and this has led to degraded streams. If communities are to truly benefit from use of nature’s assets to provide vital community infrastructure services, then two issues must first be recognized as being impediment to changes in practice,” stated Jim Dumont. “Issue #1 is widespread lack of understanding of the relationship between flow-duration and stream (watershed) health. Issue #2 is widespread application of a standard of practice that has little connection to real-world hydrology.”

“So what is the nub of the issue? In standard practice, only surface runoff is considered, and this has led to degraded streams. The other pathways by which rainfall reaches streams are ignored,” explained Jim Dumont. “If communities are to truly benefit from use of nature’s assets to provide vital community infrastructure services, then we must change the engineering standard-of practice to one that is state-of-the-art and reflects real-world hydrology.”

A Blue-Green City aims to recreate a naturally oriented water cycle “When I started, I believed the articles would focus on the technical and environmental aspects of green infrastructure as it relates to water quantity and quality,” wrote Julie Schooling, co-editor, October 2016 issue. “And yet every author has emphasized how intertwined the social and economic dimensions of our ‘watershed assets’ are with their ecological benefits.”

“The case study applications built a common understanding of how to achieve runoff-based performance targets for rainwater management and green infrastructure,” stated Rob Conway. “What is unique about our approach is the educational context. Willing owners/developers and their planning/design consultants volunteered to develop and share the case studies. It truly is a collaborative effort.”

“Every single cent that is flowing into the stormwater utility bill is taken out of property taxes. It’s fair, it’s rational, and it’s very forward-looking,” Mayor Lisa Helps said. “We are working together to create a liveable and vibrant City, and part of that is building more resilience in our communities. Only by boosting the performance of our infrastructure, will we be able to adequately plan for future risk from a changing climate.”

“The Township of Langley is a community of 113,000 of which 75% of the land area is within the Agricultural Land Reserve. This presents a delicate balance between the preservation of agricultural land and the continued pressure for urban development,” stated Councillor Charlie Fox. “It is within this context that the staff and Council champion the theme of harmony and integration as we endeavour to focus on ‘green’ initiatives and programs.”

“It took generations to short-circuit the water balance in Victoria. Similarly, it would take generations of landowners incorporating rain gardens in redeveloped properties in order to mimic the function of natural systems, and restore the water balance while meeting their drainage needs,” observed Kim Stephens. “The phrase ‘cathedral thinking’ aptly describes the long-term commitment that would be required to achieve the City’s design with nature vision for sustainable rainwater management.”

“The genesis for ISMPs (Integrated Stormwater Management Plans) was a desire to integrate the community, engineering, planning and environmental perspectives. In 2001, Metro Vancouver’s member municipalities recognized the benefits of this approach and made a legal commitment to the Province to have ISMPs in place by 2014 for their watersheds,” reported Robert Hicks.

“We are using the slogan The New Business As Usual to convey the message that, for change to really occur, practices that until now have been viewed as the exception must become the norm moving forward. We have to build regulatory models and develop models of practice and expertise,” stated Dale Wall, Deputy Minister.