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“Healthier watersheds can handle high and low rainfall better, and are therefore more resilient to the coming changes,” stated Kris La Rose. “From the regional perspective, mitigation of flood risk, water conservation and restoration and protection of our streams and rivers are all key priorities. The increase in extreme weather is highlighting the need to build better resiliency into the natural systems that we all rely so heavily upon.”

“To determine whether the humble tree really can provide such robust defences, we first need to understand the role they play in soaking up excess rain water. All floods, whether fluvial (when rivers burst their banks) or pluvial (when rainfall overwhelms drainage systems before it reaches rivers), are caused because the rain cannot soak into the soil fast enough. And while climate change is causing bigger and bigger storms, our alterations to the environment – especially to the ground surface – have been one of the major causes of the increased frequency of flooding events in modern times,” wrote Roland Ennos.

“Urban forests contribute greatly to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Urban trees also help us adapt to and cope with climate change impacts by shading communities during periods of extreme heat. The unique, multi-purpose benefits of living, green infrastructure make it an incredibly valuable tool for cities and towns to improve resiliency in the face of climate change,” says David Suzuki. “Recognizing urban trees as infrastructure assets opens up new ways to assess their value and justify investment in their maintenance.. Living, green infrastructure increases in value over time, unlike grey infrastructure.”

“We have observed that the power of the Water Balance Model process lies in the conversations that result from users generating a single number – the percentage of rainfall that becomes runoff – that represents the synthesis of any particular scenario. Comparison of scenarios creates understanding, especially when the focus is on the hydrologic implications of the assumptions that underpin those percentages,” stated Ted van der Gulik.

“When we wrote the Guidebook, we recognized there is a material difference in the characterization of surface runoff that originates from an individual development site versus flow that you see at a catchment or watershed scale. What you see in a watercourse is the total flow – that is, water that flows overland plus water that moves through soil until it daylights,” stated Peter Law.

“What gives life to the policy is the fact that, once the natural asset is within the policy, a budget must be set aside for its ongoing management and maintenance, and town staff must work together to preserve its integrity. The Town’s Eco-Asset Strategy recognizes the role of nature as a fundamental component of the municipal infrastructure system, leading to improved financial and operational management plans,” states Emanuel Machado.

“It was through my work as a Provincial Fish Biologist that I became aware first-hand of the issue of water sustainability and watershed health. In the work we did to develop the 2002 Stormater Planning Guidebook, I felt it was important to showcase the science from the University of Washington that linked impacts to fish and fish habitat with changes associated with land development,” recalls Peter Law.

Gibsons is one the first Canadian municipalities to explore managing the natural capital in their community. Their rationale is that natural services have tangible value to the community. “Bringing natural assets into the same asset management system as engineered infrastructure recognizes the quantifiable value they provide to the community and integrates them into the municipal framework for operating budgets, maintenance and regular support,” stated Dave Newman.

The first continent-wide, multi-factor analysis of climate and land cover effects on watersheds in the United States provides a broad new assessment of runoff, flooding and rainwater management options. “We propose the increased use of green infrastructure and best management practices to enhance the resilience of the watershed system,” stated Timothy Randhir.

“In 1996, Richard Horner and Chris May published a seminal paper that synthesized a decade of Puget Sound research to identify and rank the four factors that degrade urban streams and negatively influence aquatic productivity and fish survival. This science-based ranking provides a framework for Integrated Watershed Management,” reports Bill Derry.