Stomwater Treatment by Dr. Gary Minton – cover (198×270)
The distinction between the “engineered filter” and “nature’s filter” has blurred. The underdrain system is soil rather than pipes. The filter media is the native soil. But it is becoming more common to specify engineered media.
“Soils for Salmon” is an initiative of the Washington Organic Recycling Council. Soil performs valuable functions: nourishing plants, absorbing and cleaning stormwater. These functions are often degraded during development when soil is removed or compacted. Restoring healthy soil is essential to protecting our waterways and salmon, and our way of life in the Puget Sound region. Builders, developers, and landscapers are adopting practices that preserve and improve the soil on building sites, and protect waterways, and local governments are beginning to require it.
King County in Washington State became one of the first jurisdictions in the United States to adopt and implement a post-construction soil standard. Its regulation went into effect January 1, 2005. King County’s post-construction soil standard has changed the way developers plan and develop a site in unincorporated parts of the county.
Jay Bradley (120p) – VICT Chair
As a sponsor of ‘green value’ initiatives on Vancouver Island, the inter-agency Water Balance Model Vancouver Island Coordinating Team (VICT) participated in the 'Creating Our Future Workshop' that was an adjunct to the 2007 Gaining Ground Summit Conference.
Properly designed “rain gardens” can effectively trap and retain up to 99 percent of common pollutants in urban storm runoff, potentially improving water quality and promoting the conversion of some pollutants into less harmful compounds. This is according to new research scheduled for publication in the February 15, 2006 issue of the American Chemical Society journal, “Environmental Science and Technology”. The affordable, easy-to-design gardens could help solve one of the nation’s most pressing pollution problems.
Efficient water use and conservation technologies are important components of CMHC's “Healthy Housing” commitment to environmental stewardship. On this site, you will find highlights of recent Canadian and international research and efforts in this field.
InfraGuide works collaboratively to create a network advantage within the broad infrastructure community, and to develop and disseminate best practices and tools that encourage innovation to support sustainable municipal infrastructure decisions and actions that protect and enhance the quality of life of Canadians.
To help us develop our region in a way that lets us achieve economic prosperity, environmental health and community well-being, Buildsmart provides a resource for the design and construction industry, helping you make smart, sustainable choices when crafting the future of our constructed environment.
The Water Balance Model for BC demonstrates how to achieve significant progress towards sustainability in a number of categories. While the focus is on integration of land use planning with stormwater management for urban watershed protection, the vision is to facilitate a closed loop approach to management of the urban water cycle. The objective is that stormwater volume reduction will be seamlessly integrated with land use planning and site development practices.
