Originally developed to meet the stormwater management planning needs of Metro Vancouver municipalities, the Water Balance Model has become “British Columbia’s tool”. Use of the Water Balance Model (WBM) enables planners and engineers to design communities so that they have no net impact on stream environments.
On September 14, Metro Vancouver regional politicians were introduced to the vision for the WBM Express for Homeowners. “Stream health depends on ALL properties in a watershed. We have known this since the 1990s. The ‘missing link’ has been the single family detached dwelling. We now have the tools and experience to manage rain where it falls. This means municipalities can fulfill senior government regulatory requirements,” stated Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability.
“The ultimate target actually audience goes well beyond homeowners. The Partnership sees the WBM Express as a vehicle to connect with builders, developers, consultants, real estate agents and students/educators.”
Kim Stephens also provided this historical perspective: “UniverCity, the sustainable community atop Burnaby Mountain, was the catalyst for reinventing urban hydrology. This resulted in the Water Balance Methodology. That was more than a decade ago. At the same time, the City of Surrey was planning its East Clayton sustainable community. Surrey built on the UniverCity experience and evolved the Water Balance Methodology through a succession of watershed applications.”
TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete story posted on the Water Bucket website, click on Vision for ‘Water Balance Model Express’ Introduced to Elected Representatives in Metro Vancouver Region.
News Release #2011-40
September 22, 2011
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