Water-Centric Planning

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “How you adapt to change is that you develop a culture where you welcome, and you try and anticipate, what a future state might be like. And then be nimble enough to adapt and adjust yourself to it,” stated Ramin Seifi, former General Manager of engineering and planning with Langley Township in the Metro Vancouver region

February 13, 2024 - Posted in Living Water Smart in BC, Living Water Smart: The Series, published in 2024

Note to Reader:

Published by the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia, Waterbucket eNews celebrates the leadership of individuals and organizations who are guided by the Living Water Smart vision. The edition published published on February 13, 2024 features the story behind the story of Ramin Seifi, former General Manager of engineering and planning with Langley Township. He is a visionary leadership and champion for implementing green infrastructure to achieve ‘water balance’.

Instill a culture that supports champions

“My sense is that the impact of what Ramin Seifi and his staff accomplished in Langley over 20-plus years is underappreciated. Few in the Metro Vancouver region even know about the history and legacy of Langley’s green infrastructure innovation,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

When the provincial government released Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia in 2002, Langley Township was one of the first municipalities to operationalize the Water Balance Methodology. Around that time, I met Ramin Seifi and was impressed by his commitment to doing it right.
Thanks to Ramin being a champion for the water balance approach, the Routley, Yorkson and Northeast Gordon Estates neighbourhoods were demonstration applications that informed evolution of the Water Balance Methodology in the first half of the 2000s.
When Langley was a host for Showcasing Green Infrastructure Innovation in Metro Vancouver: The 2007 Series, Ramin Seifi and Colin Wright chose Harmony and Integration as their event theme.

“It was not a random decision. Harmony and integration capture our core values. What we are showcasing is the outcome of years of interdepartmental collaboration,” stated Ramin at the event. “When we are in harmony with nature, things will go well,” added Colin Wright who was then General Manager of Engineering.

Evolution from curb-and-gutter to blue links

“Langley’s approach to achieving water balance through green Infrastructure continued to evolve as successive neighbourhoods were built over the past two decades. In the beginning, the focus for Green Infrastructure was on what could be achieved within greenways,” continued Kim Stephens.

“Langley staff then turned their attention to rain gardens. Building on their history of successes, their next evolution was implementation of blue links, which is another name for rain gardens.”

It made sense

“The term ‘blue link’ describes the purpose of the current drainage standard in Langley. It replaced the traditional curb-and-gutter detail for all but arterial roadways. The blue link is symbolic of the transformational change which has taken root in the Township in the 21st century as designing with nature became the ‘new normal’.”

“Replacement of curb-and-gutter with a blue link rain garden is a perfect illustration of integration in action. Everyone could see that it made sense. Because I could see the need from all angles, I said to staff ‘just do it’. Integration helps everyone get it,” reports Ramin Seifi.

TO LEARN MORE:

To read the complete story, download a copy of Living Water Smart in British Columbia: Instill a culture that supports champions. The downloadable version includes a bonus feature in an appendix. The bonus is the synopsis of Langley’s green infrastructure innovation that the Partnership published in 2017. It posed the question, how does one instill a stewardship ethic in the corporate culture so that the legacy would be lasting?