Water-Centric Planning

LIVING WATER SMART IN BRITISH COLUMBIA: “Not everyone gets to plan a brand-new community on top of a mountain as I did at Simon Fraser University,” stated Michael Geller, the man whose leadership took the vision for a sustainable community and created UniverCity

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 on March 4, 2025 featured Michael Geller,

Through sheer force of personality, he took the vision for a sustainable community atop Burnaby Mountain and created UniverCity. Michael Geller is driven by a CAN DO ATTITUDE. “One of the real advantages we had at UniverCity is that I was able to try out new ideas,” says Michael Geller.

EDITOR’S PERSPECTIVE / CONTEXT FOR BUSY READER

“Michael Geller, through sheer force of personality, took the vision for a sustainable community atop Burnaby Mountain and created UniverCity. His world view was downtown Vancouver which is not greenfield. That resulted in tense moments with the environmental agencies about safeguarding the hydrologic integrity of Stoney Creek,” stated Kim Stephens, Waterbucket eNews Editor and Partnership Executive Director.

“When Michael Geller invited me to lead the ‘green team’ for the UniverCity project, I stated that it was not possible to meet the intent of the Official Community Plan for Burnaby Mountain unless we reinvented urban hydrology. And that is exactly what we proceeded to do.

We overcame fear and doubt by applying science-based understanding to develop the Water Balance Methodology

“The late Jennifer Atchison, co-founder of the Stoney Creek Environment Committee, played a crucial role in holding the feet of Burnaby City Council and Michael Geller to the fire. Her passion and contributions set a high bar for UniverCity to meet in protecting Stoney Creek. One day, Jennifer said to me:

“In the early stages of UniverCity, everything hinged on the drainage plan. Nothing could proceed until it was resolved. We had to overcome fear and doubt. It had to work. Failure was not an option. We had to build trust. UBC’s Patrick Condon was a key player in the consensus process. He generated a defining quote that captured the moment, the mood, and the stakes.”

“The weight of that responsibility was my motivation to re-invent urban hydrology and my source of inspiration to develop the Water Balance Methodology. Subsequently, it became the technical foundation for British Columbia’s Stormwater Guidebook.”

Ask what the numbers are telling you

So often, serendipity plays a big role in what we do. When Michael Geller unveiled the visionary concept for UniverCity at an on-campus session in 2000, a graduating student in the School of Resource and Environmental Management asked me a series of incisive and perceptive questions.

Patrick Graham so impressed me that I offered him a job right then and there. I shared a story with him about what I had learned from Wesley Eckenfelder, a legendary professor at Vanderbilt University. When looking at data, Eckenfelder said, ask what are the numbers telling you.