LIVING WATER SMART IN METRO VANCOUVER: “The City of Surrey hosted the Water Balance Model Forum because we wanted to start a dialogue between policy-makers and project implementers,” stated Vincent Lalonde, General Manager of Engineering, City of Surrey (March 2009)
NOTE TO READERS:
Following release of Living Water Smart in 2008, the government of British Columbia maintained livingwatersmart.ca as a stand-alone portal to support the Living Water Smart program. Implementation was a provincial government priority that involved 11 ministries and many water and land managers and users.
In the early years, the Living Water Smart portal showcased the stories of those leading change on the ground in British Columbia. Some projects were complete, or had a short life of two to three years, while other commitments were to be implemented over a much longer time period. The article below was posted on the Living Water Smart website.
On the BC Ministry of Environment website (in 2020), Living Water Smart is now just a dropdown under the topic area “Water Planning and Strategies”. This reflects the fact that Living Water Smart way-of-thinking is fully integrated into the business as usual.
Convening for Action in Metro Vancouver
In March 2009, the City of Surrey hosted the Metro Vancouver Water Balance Model Forum. The ‘Surrey Forum’ was undertaken as an outreach opportunity for Living Water Smart and the Green Communities Initiative.
Organized in collaboration with the Green Infrastructure Partnership and the Inter-Governmental Water Balance Model Partnership, the Surrey Forum was a first step in advancing a ‘regional team approach’ to rainwater management and green infrastructure in Metro Vancouver. The desired outcome is to build greener communities that protect and/or restore stream health.
Alignment at Three Scales
“Our goal is to align local actions in Metro Vancouver with provincial goals as stated in Living Water Smart. Making this happen requires partnerships, collaboration, innovation and integration,” states Raymond Fung, Chair of the Green Infrastructure Partnership (and Director of Engineering & Transportation, District of West Vancouver).
“We saw the Forum as providing an opportunity to generate positive energy in the region. Already, the Forum has informed actions identified in the rainwater/stormwater component of Metro Vancouver’s pending Integrated Liquid Waste & Resource Management Plan. We believe this plan is where the opportunity for implementing a regional team approach resides.”
Shared Responsibility
The Forum program was built around the ‘HOW question’ as it pertains to green infrastructure: HOW will the City of Surrey ensure it gets built right; HOW will a consistent regional approach be achieved in Metro Vancouver.
“The City of Surrey hosted the Water Balance Model Forum because we wanted to start a dialogue between policy-makers and project implementers,” states Vincent Lalonde, the City’s General Manager, Engineering. “We approached the program design from a shared responsibility perspective; we explored how policy and legal tools can help developers, regulators and designers collaborate to ensure responsible outcomes.”
Moving Beyond Pilot Projects
“We wanted the policy people to have an appreciation for what is involved in constructing green infrastructure; and we wanted the implementers to understand what the provincial, regional and local goals are….and what we are trying to achieve in Surrey through the use of policy, approved standards and legal tools,” adds Vincent Lalonde.
“The Forum was a success,” reports Rémi Dubé, Acting Development Services Manager with the City of Surrey. “We have been getting some pretty good feedback from many of the people who attended the Forum (specifically developers and consultants). It’s leading into more direct communication with certain developers who are looking at different approaches … they seemed encouraged with the dialogue that the Forum appeared to promote.”
Watershed Objectives Approach
“Surrey has moved beyond pilot projects; we are moving to a broader watershed objectives approach to capturing rain where it falls to better protect our streams,” continues Rémi Dubé.
“Once we know what we want our watersheds and neighbourhoods to look like, the next step is to decide what the tools are that will get us there. All of us ….whether we are regulators, developers or designers ….need to understand and care about the goal if we are to create the future that we all want,” concludes Vincent Lalonde.