Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC

“An increasing building footprint on properties is short-circuiting the WATER BALANCE. This creates risks for local government, both financial and environmental. If we want to make change, then we have to find a way to influence landowners to look at their properties differently,” stated Richard Boase.

“When Kim Stephens met with the Metro Vancouver Utilities Committee to provide us with a progress report on the Water Balance Model, we were impressed that our $50,000 grant has leveraged $250,000 in cash and in-kind contributions,” states City of North Vancouver Mayor Darrell Mussatto….

“Metro Vancouver contributed $50,000 to fund further enhancement of the Water Balance Model because widespread use of this decision tool will help Metro Vancouver and members fulfil our regulatory commitments, in particular those related to integrated rainwater management,” stated Port Coquitlam Mayor Greg Moore, Chair of the Metro Vancouver Board.

“The City of Surrey has extensive experience with ISMP development and implementation. Now in its fifth decade of continuous implementation experience, the City continues to evolve and adapt a watershed–based approach that incorporates lessons learned in getting green infrastructure built right. Creating good plans come from integrating good concepts from a variety of sources into the needs of the watershed,” states Carrie Baron.

“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 need to understand and care about the goal if we are to create the future that we all want,” stated Vincent Lalonde.

“Investigation of opportunities for the application of green infrastructure objectives is now expected in all the City’s land use plans. Furthermore, ISMPs will provide the basis for implementing green infrastructure objectives to support a design with nature approach on a watershed scale,” stated Paul Ham.

“It is now time to take another leap forward, albeit by moving sideways, and recognize near surface lateral water flow, otherwise known as interflow. The challenge for engineers is to determine the influence of interflow on a site and then design and implement techniques that replace or restore it,” states Alan Jonsson

“Now, local governments can focus on what is most important AND achieve more at less cost. The Screening Tool is not intended to replace detailed analysis during the design process; rather, it provides a quick and inexpensive look into the drainage system performance to highlight any problem areas. Thus it will provide inexpensive input into establishing priorities for capital budgets,” states Jim Dumont.

“For many years, Australia and Europe have faced serious problems with the management and governance of their water resources—from the effects of severe drought, to the challenges of jurisdictional fragmentation, unclear responsibilities, and disconnected governance. These challenges offer a glimpse into Canada’s water future,” states Oliver Brandes.

“In talking about the Climate Change Module in the Water Balance Model, I explained that the team of Chris Jensen, Dr. Charles Rowney and Jim Dumont have taken the complex science of global climate modeling and have incorporated it in a way that we believe makes it easy for engineers, planners and others to understand and apply,” states Ted van der Gulik.