Improving the Urban Landscape through Inter-Provincial Partnerships
When the International Water Association held its 10th International Specialist Conference on Watershed and River Basin Management in Calgary, this created an opportunity for a public unveiling of an inter-provincial partnership between British Columbia and Alberta that is founded on the Water Balance Model.
Design with Nature & Rainwater Management: APEGBC organized and UBC-Okanagan hosted Water Balance Model Training Workshop in 2006
“Use of the tool will help design professionals understand what ‘thinking outside the pipe’ and ‘designing with nature’ actually mean in the context of ‘green’ subdivisions that have been built in recent years in British Columbia,” stated Richard Boase. “The tool enables assessment of the effectiveness of site designs that incorporate rainwater source controls such as absorbent landscaping, rain gardens, infiltration facilities and green roofs. The Water Balance Model can be applied at three scales: site, subdivision and watershed.”
WSUD: Basic Procedures for 'Source Control' of Stormwater
Australian WSUD Handbook
John Argue
“Water-sensitive Urban Design” (WSUD) is a term used in Australia to describe sustainable water cycle management in the urban landscape. To assist practitioners in designing rainwater source control measures, A Handbook for Australian Practice was published in 2005. The Handbook is a compilation of proven approaches that are aimed at solving everyday problems of small-scale rainwater management.
Stormwater Source Controls Design Guidelines 2005 – Final Report
Rain Garden
GVRD
To complement the Water Balance Model, the Stormwater Inter-Agency Group (SILG) – a technical committee of the Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) – commissioned a research project to create “Stormwater Source Controls Design Guidelines 2005”. This work is based on the adaptation of design standards from areas of Europe and North America with similar climatic and soil conditions. The objective of this project is to reduce information barriers that stand in the way of effective implementation of rainwater source controls in the Georgia Basin region of British Columbia.
Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia
Integrated Strategy
KAS
Founded on British Columbia case study experience, and published by the BC Ministry of Water, Land and Air Protection in 2002, Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia formalized a science-based understanding to set performance targets for reducing rainwater runoff volumes and rates. These targets represent the synthesis of biological and hydrological understanding. The Guidebook is structured to meet the information needs of different audiences.
Template for Integrated Stormwater Management Planning 2005
Integrated Rainwater Mgmt Planning
In British Columbia, the term Integrated Stormwater Management Planning (ISMP) has gained widespread acceptance by local governments and the environmental agencies to describe a comprehensive, ecosystem-based approach to rainwater management. In the Greater Vancouver region, one of the primary results of a co-ordinated approach has been the creation of a template for ISMPs, which are watershed- specific, flexible and adaptive strategies.
Metro Vancouver Develops Design Guidelines to Complement Water Balance Model
The Greater Vancouver Regional District (GVRD) – commissioned a research project to create “Stormwater Source Controls Design Guidelines 2005”. The objective of this project was to promote effective implementation of rainwater source controls in the Georgia Basin region of British Columbia.
Greater Vancouver Region Develops Design Guidelines for Infiltration Swale Systems
In British Columbia, the technical language is being simplified. Six simplified categories have been defined, one of which is Infiltration Swale Systems.
Greater Vancouver Region Develops Design Guidelines for Rain Gardens
In British Columbia, the technical language is being simplified. Six categories have been defined, one of which is Rain Gardens.
Rainwater Management in British Columbia: Performance Target Methodology at heart of Provincial Guidebook
“The widespread changes in thinking about rainwater runoff impacts that began in the late 1990s reflected new insights in two areas: hydrology; and aquatic ecology. These new insights were the result of improved understanding of the causes-and-effects of changes in hydrology brought about by urban development, and the consequences for aquatic ecology,” explains Peter Law.