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BC Stormwater Planning Guidebook

    DRINKING WATER & WATERSHED PROTECTION IN THE COWICHAN REGION OF VANCOUVER ISLAND: “We have taken on responsibilities downloaded by the provincial government because we have a necessity to get things done. Yet downloading is especially hard on regional districts because of the demands it places on everyone to pick up the slack,” stated Lori Iannidinardo, Chair (2022) Cowichan Valley Regional District


    “We need a provincial hammer. But there is nobody on the ground to take responsibility and follow through to resolve issues and concerns. How do we get everybody up to speed and working together when participation on committees is not a provincial priority to help local government? You need a team to be effective. Land use is a local government responsibility. But we need much stronger provincial regulations and support so that regional districts are able to mandate requirements for better and more effective land use practices,” Lori Iannidinardo.

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    SCIENCE OF LAND USE CHANGE AND STREAM SYSTEM INTEGRITY: “Twenty years after release of BC’s Stormwater Planning Guidebook, how water gets to a stream and how long it takes, is still not widely understood. Parksville’s Shelly Creek is an ongoing test case for the Water Balance Methodology to raise awareness of what needs to be done to reconnect hydrology and stream ecology,” stated Peter Law, Vice-President of the Mid Vancouver Island Habitat Enhancement Society (June 2022)


    “Small streams are now going dry and have zero levels of riparian protection, mostly because in the early days of streamside protection they weren’t seen as worthy of protection. We need more than a setback to protect aquatic habitat. The science shows that communities also need to tackle what is happening on the land that drains to streams. To reach consensus on a shared vision of what is desirable and achievable for watershed protection or restoration, people need a picture of what a stream corridor could and/or should look like. Often, the visioning process boils down to whether or not a stream corridor will have a functioning aquatic ecosystem,” stated Peter Law.

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