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“Interflow is often the dominant drainage path in glaciated landscapes of British Columbia. Even undeveloped sites founded on till and bedrock rarely show overland flow because of interflow pathways. The lesson is that the interflow system is an incredibly important and yet fragile component of a watershed. It is critical for maintaining stream health and our fishery resource,” states Al Jonsson of DFO.

“The Carnegie Group of Olympia believes proposed LID rule will most likely spell the demise of Puget Sound by failing to protect tributary watersheds,” states Carol Richmond.

“The consequence of the Department of Ecology's 'flow-duration' standard will be development that will result in exactly the opposite of a healthy watershed,” says Tom Holz.

Address affordability, flexibility, site-specific constraints and performance assessment.

“Ailing Northwest rivers and lakes face death not so much by a thousand cuts as by a thousand rainstorms, each flushing filthy runoff into our region’s environmentally and economically important waterways. But work is underway to change this. Low-impact development treats larger volumes of water, is cheaper to maintain, boosts propety values, creates wildlife habitat, and reduces greenhouse gases,” writes Lisa Stiffler.

“Redevelopment of previously developed land can lead to the net improvements in watershed health that we need. Redevelopment triggers restoration activities of our existing built environment. Watershed and sub-watershed analysis, integrated with regional planning and local regulations, should be at the heart of new stormwater regulations,” states John Norquist.

“These days we’re all hearing about ‘Green’, but few people realize to be really ‘Green’ you must be ‘Blue’ too! Nature has designed a partnership between land (‘Green’) and water (‘Blue’) where each benefits the other.” stated Peter MacDonagh.

“Climate change significantly raises the risk of rain-generated floods and infrastructure failure. To maintain current levels of service, drainage infrastructure will need to be modified and upgraded. A key challenge is that for many communities, it will be prohibitively costly to rely on conventional engineered solutions,” states Chris Jensen.

Once thought of as a nuisance, rainwater is now universally recognized as one our most important natural resources and proper management (simple to complex) is more important than ever.

Studies in Salt Lake County, Utah, help determine whether first flush exists in the region and the implications for choosing stormwater treatment systems.