NEW GUIDE: Development Permit Areas for Climate Action in British Columbia

Achieve Broader Rainwater Management Goals 

In 2008, the Province of BC amended the Local Government Act to include three Development Permit Area (DPA) purposes for climate action. This amendment established objectives to promote energy conservation, water conservation, and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction.

To support the legislative changes, the Province has developed a guidance document: Development Permit Areas for Climate Action: A Guide for Energy Conservation, Water Conservation and GHG Emissions Reduction.The Guide:

• describes the legislative authority for DPAs for climate action;
• identifies considerations for local governments that are undertaking a DPA for climate action; 
• presents examples of DPA strategies for energy conservation, water conservation and GHG reduction; and,
• highlights local government examples of DPAs for climate action and related initiatives.    

The Guide was developed by Ministry staff and reviewed by key stakeholders, including: local government planning staff; landscape architects; the Urban Development Institute; the Canadian Homebuilders Association; BC Hydro and other relevant government agencies.

Make Strategic Choices: The Guide was created to help local governments make strategic choices about how to effectively use DPAs for climate action and to help achieve their GHG emission reduction targets. The Guide references both Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for BC; and the Water Balance Model for BC.

“The Water Balance Model is one tool that can assist in designing developments that minimize change to natural hydrologic conditions. The tool helps makes decisions about how best to manage rainwater runoff,” states the Guide.

“Combining an environmental protection DPA with a climate action DPA can achieve broader rainwater management goals. A water conservation DPA might include strategies that reduce the demand for potable water (for example, low water use landscaping), and support on-site rainwater infiltration and rainwater capture for re-use,” adds the Guide in providing an example of proposed application.

TO LEARN MORE: To download a copy of the Guide, click here. And to read a story posted previously about the Water Balance Model, click on British Columbia Partnership announces that rebuilt “Water Balance Model” is now LIVE!

E-Blast #2012-12

March 27, 2012

Comox Valley Regional Board endorses Vancouver Island Inter-Regional Education Initiative

Rainwater Management in a 

Watershed Sustainability Context 

Vancouver Island is a hot-bed of progressive ideas and provincially significant initiatives. Regional districts and their partner municipalities are advancing watershed-based strategies and programs that integrate the site with the watershed and stream. These initiatives all recognize the importance of fostering a land ethic that respects water.

The Comox Valley Regional District board, representing four local governments, was the first region to formally endorse participation in an Inter-Regional Education Initiative. Organized under the umbrella of CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island, this inter-regional program is aligned with regional priorities and workloads. It is linking activities so that everyone can share experiences and benefit from lessons learned.

"The Comox Valley is a provincial demonstration region for a ‘regional team approach’. Everyone needs to agree on expectations and how all the players will work together. After that, each community can reach its goals in its own way," states Tim Pringle, President of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC. The Partnership is leading the Inter-Regional Education Initiative.

"BC's enabling philosophy has become a driver for a regional team approach to implementing a new culture for urban watershed protection and restoration in BC. We are seeing that the term 'regional team approach' is resonating. Insertion of the word team in 'regional approach' has had a profound impact on how practitioners view their world."

Convening for Action on Vancouver Island

In August 2011, the Comox Valley Regional Board passed a series of resolutions pertaining to an integrated watershed approach to rainwater management. These resolutions highlighted the need for province-wide action related to how drainage is regulated by the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure. These common interests provided the Partnership with the opportunity to bring together four Vancouver Island regions.

“Inter-regional sharing, collaboration, alignment and consistency will accelerate effective implementation of watershed protection objectives within each regional district. The regions are linked by common interests, but are not dependent on each other,” states Comox Valley Board Chair Edwin Grieve. 

“This important initiative will help assist the regional district as we move forward and address rainwater management issues in the Comox Valley. It also aligns with our Board strategic priority to develop a rainwater strategy.” 

  

 

2012 Program 

On March 28, the Cowichan Valley Regional District will host a forum on Sustainable Rainwater Management on Vancouver Island: What Does It Look Like? 

 

“The Forum is the kick-off for the Inter-Regional Education Initiative to be implemented in four regions over several years. Sharing of experiences, collaboration, alignment and a consistent approach on Vancouver Island will allow everyone to go farther, more efficiently and effectively," states Kate Miller, Chair of the Cowichan Valley Regional Team. Kate is Manager of the Regional Environmental Policy Division in the Regional District.

“Five local governments comprising the Cowichan Valley Regional Team will report out on how each has progressed since 2008. Our emphasis will be on “targets and criteria”, lessons learned, and practices necessary to protect stream health. Regulatory agencies and other local governments will also be sharing their insights at the WBM Forum.”

For registration information, click on http://www.civicinfo.bc.ca/event/WBMForum.asp. To download an AGENDA PREVIEW, click here.

To read a story previously posted on the Water Bucket website, click on Sustainable Rainwater Management on Vancouver Island: What Does It Look Like?

E-Blast #2012-11

March 20, 2012

Water Bucket Website hosts "homepage" for 2012 Cowichan Valley Forum on Sustainable Rainwater Management

Inter-Regional Education Initiative 
on Vancouver Island

On March 28, the Cowichan Valley is the host region for the 2nd Vancouver Island Water Balance Model Forum. To help tell the story of this event, and  connect the dots to the inaugural 2008 Forum, a homepage has been established on the Water Bucket website.

“The Forum is the kick-off for an Inter-Regional Education Initiative on Vancouver Island to be implemented in four regions over several years. Sharing of experiences, collaboration, alignment and a consistent approach on Vancouver Island will allow everyone to go farther, more efficiently and effectively," reports Kate Miller of the Cowichan Valley Regional District. Kate is Manager of the Regional Environmental Policy Division. She is also Chair of the Cowichan Valley Regional Team comprising five local governments, the Cowichan Tribes, and the Cowichan Watershed Board.

"The Water Bucket team is working with the Cowichan Valley Regional Team to help them capture their key messages about the 2012 Forum on Sustainable Rainwater Management in a conversational way,"  states Mike Tanner, Chair of the Water Bucket Website Partnership. "The Water Bucket provides a tangible way to record history as it is being created by those who are convening for action in British Columbia."

TO LEARN MORE: To access the Forum page, click here. 

 

2008 Cowichan Valley Forum was provincial pilot for building developer and local government capacity to apply the Water Balance Model

About the Educational Approach

In 2008, the Cowichan Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series provided the springboard to the inaugural Vancouver Island Water Balance Model Forum, hosted by the Cowichan Valley Regional District. The Forum was held in October 2008. Both were provincial pilots and both were part of the rollout of Living Water Smart, British Columbia's Water Plan. The purpose of the Series and the Forum was to facilitate a consistent provincial approach to rainwater management and green infrastructure.

“The Cowichan Valley was the pilot region for an inclusive and collaborative approach to building capacity through education and training,” recalls Jay Bradley, Chair of the Vancouver Island Coordinating Team, a sub-group of the inter-governmental Water Balance Model Partnership. "The Forum was conducted as a hybrid-training workshop to inform, educate and enable those who wish to apply the Water Balance Model to support a Design with Nature approach to land development.”  

“The educational approach is helping us to identify and empower a core group of local champions who will then have the expertise to apply and advance the water balance approach to land development,” adds Peter Nilsen, Deputy Engineer with the District of North Cowichan. “This building of practitioner capacity encompasses both local government and the development community. Project proponents and reviewers will have a common language.”


TO LEARN MORE: To access a set of online stories that elaborate on what was accomplished by the 2008 Forum, click on 2008 Cowichan Valley Water Balance Model Forum: List of Water Bucket Stories. 

The Cowichan Valley Learning Lunch Seminar Series comprised a set of three sessions held during the June - July 2008 period. To access links to a comprehensive set of 16 web stories describing all aspects of the Cowichan Valley series, click on Promoting a consistent approach to Rainwater Management & Green Infrastructure to achieve liveable communities in balance with ecology.

 

2008 Cowichan Valley Water Balance Model Forum featured case studies at watershed, neighbourhood and site scales

Create Liveable Communities and 

Protect Stream Health

In October 2008, the Cowichan Water Balance Model Forum featured a roundtable sharing of case study experience related to achieving runoff-based performance targets. Willing owners/developers and their planning/design consultants collaborated with the Water Balance Model team to develop three case study applications that were shared at the Forum.

Educational Context
The case study applications were at the watershed, neighbourhood and site scales. Prior to the Forum, the Water Balance Model was applied to these projects so that the results would inform the Forum learning outcomes:

• Watershed-scale: Bamberton Lands, a project by Three Point Properties
• Neighbourhood-scale: Artisan Village (Chemainus), a project by Chris Clement 
• Site-scale: Lanes Landing (Cowichan Bay), a project by Len Barrie

The purpose of the case study applications was to demonstrate that the Water Balance Model: can be applied at all scales of land use; places the emphasis on what is important; provides a consistent approach; generates reliable numbers easily and quickly; and informs land development strategies.

"What was unique about our approach was the educational context. Willing project proponents volunteered to develop and share the case studies. It truly was a collaborative effort,” recalls Rob Conway, Manager of  the Development Services Division at the Cowichan Valley Regional District. 

TO LEARN MORE: To access a set of online stories that elaborate on what was accomplished by the 2008 Forum, click on 2008 Cowichan Valley Water Balance Model Forum: List of Water Bucket Stories.

"Deal with Rainwater Runoff Responsibly", urged Rob Conway at 2008 Cowichan Valley Water Balance Model Forum

Living Water Smart: 

Doing Business Differently in BC

The Cowichan Valley is a provincial demonstration region for designing with nature to create liveable communities, protect stream health and produce 'green value'. In October 2008, the Cowichan Valley Regional District hosted a Water Balance Model Forum that was conducted as a hybrid-training workshop to inform, educate and enable those who wish to apply the Water Balance Model to support a Design with Nature approach to land development.

The Forum was a key event in the early rollout of Living Water Smart, British Columbia's Water Plan; and featured a roundtable sharing of case study experience related to achieving runoff-based performance targets.

"We are increasingly advising development applicants that they need to manage rainwater runoff where it falls. Until now we have not had an appropriate way to assess their proposed solutions," noted Rob Conway (Manager, Development Services) in his closing comments. 

"The Water Balance Model is a great way to do this. It provides local government reviewers with a measurable way of determining what is a good solution for a particular site. Developers showing that they are dealing with rainwater runoff responsively is a very important part of a development application."  

TO LEARN MORE: To hear Rob Conway on a YouTube video clip, click here. To access a set of online stories that elaborate on what was accomplished by the 2008 Forum, click on 2008 Cowichan Valley Water Balance Model Forum: List of Water Bucket Stories.

Also, to access the homepage for the 2009 Surrey Water Balance Model Forum, click here.

"Success of 2008 Cowichan Water Balance Model Forum demonstrated by a number of results," concluded Jay Bradley

Report from the Chair of the 

Vancouver Island Coordinating Team  

In October 2008, the Cowichan Valley Water Balance Model Forum was part of the implementation program for Beyond the Guidebook: The New Business As Usual. This initiative has added depth to Living Water Smart, British Columbia's Water Plan, the provincial government’s vision and plan to keep British Columbia's water healthy and secure for the future. 

Jay Bradley, Chair of the Vancouver Island Coordinating Team (VICT), a sub-group of the inter-governmental Water Balance Model Partnership, represented the Province and provided the Living Water Smart context for the Forum purpose and desired outcome. "The success of the Forum was demonstrated by a number of results," reported Jay Bradley. He summarized these as follows:
 
A Full House!
We went from a list of 20 planned to over 50 actual attendees!!
 
Big Wheels!
The participation of prominent local developers and consultants (Michelle Mahavlich of Three Point Properties; Oleh Dubek of 1st Team Consulting Ltd; Dave Conway of Creative Engineering) who reported out on their experience of using the Water Balance Model to assess their development proposals (Bamberton; Artisan Village; Lane's Landing)
 
Enthusiasm!
Everyone stayed until the end (punctually ended at 3:00); the question and answer period was notably abuzz with interest and interaction, focused on what water-centric planning is all about and what the Water Balance Model can do (as well as what the challenges are).
 
Networking!
The session brought developers, consultants and local government together to learn and share, greet and meet. I noticed a lot of card-swapping and hand-shaking going on.
 
The Bigger Picture!
Practitioners came away with an understanding that the Province's Living Water Smart plan provides further context for 'Doing Business Differently,' to create liveable communities and protect stream health.

Paradigm-Shift!
The idea of setting easily-understood science-based runoff targets and seeing the results through the Water Balance Model went a long way to shifting mindsets away from the pipe-and-convey mode of thinking, to the concept that managing rainfall "where it falls" is not only in keeping with a design with nature approach, but also creates 'green value.
 
'Facts over Fear!
Because the Water Balance Model is a science-based tool it can be used early in the development planning process to provide informed decision-making. It won't tell us what choices to make, but it will help guide choices by revealing options and their impacts.
 
Enlightenment!
From the outset the tone was set for "give and take." The forum was carried out on the principle of two-way communication, sharing and education.

"In the larger context, the forum was indicative of how far along our community of Vancouver Island practitioners has come," concluded Jay Bradley in his report. "We are fostering a growing understanding of the fact that what goes on at a site, in terms of how rainwater is treated, is linked not only to stream and watershed health, but also to our social well-being and aesthetics of our communities. Unlike the pipe-and-convey approach, the use of source control features is an investment in green value that brings returns for the developer and end-users of a site."

Sustainable Rainwater Management: What Does It Look Like in British Columbia?

 



 Okanagan Basin Water Board hosted first “Water Balance Model Training Workshop” in 2012 Series 

The web-based Water Balance Model for British Columbia (WBM) quantifies the effectiveness of green infrastructure. This scenario comparison tool can help communities create a future watershed vision by informing their decisions about the impacts, or not, of their ‘water footprint’ on stream health.

Launched by an inter-governmental partnership in 2003, the WBM has been rebuilt on a new platform. It is quicker and easier to use; and it now has launch buttons at three scales of investigation: SITE, NEIGHBOURHOOD and WATERSHED. 

Knowledge-Transfer Program

In conjunction with the rebuild, the WBM Partnership is implementing an outreach, education and training program to advance Sustainable Rainwater Management. In March, the Okanagan Basin Water Board hosted the first training workshop in the 2012-2013 Series. The workshop was part of the Board’s Climate Adaptation Workshop program.

The instructors for the workshop were Kim Stephens, Executive DIrector of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC; and Jim Dumont, Engineering Applications Authority for the Water Balance Model Partnership. These experienced engineers looked at rainfall differently. This led them to pioneer practical applications of water balance thinking. In conducting the training session, they shared stories that provided historical context for development of the Water Balance Methodology. People learn through stories, and storytelling is a foundation piece for the knowledge-transfer program.

"The water balance methodology links rainfall to flows in the stream, and hence, protection of stream health. In conducting training workshops, an educational outcome is that municipal engineers, planners and consultants will understand why and how to apply the water balance methodology to achieve targets," stated Kim Stephens. 

"The methodology integrates the components of the water balance, and assesses how they change as the percentage of hard surface increases: runoff goes up; infiltration and surface evaporation both go down. Evaporation is critical and typically gets overlooked in conventional drainage modelling," emphasized Jim Dumont. 

"What most people overlook is that evaporation is almost equal to infiltration. This means there is increasingly more volume to manage as the landscape is built over." (To download a copy of the image that Jim Dumont is pointing at, click here and also see below.)

Workshop Structure: After Kim Stephens introduced core concepts and tested the knowledge of the class, Jim Dumont guided participants step-by-step through a case study application of the Water Balance Model at the SITE scale. He demonstrated how to do scenario comparisons.

“In terms of educational dollars per unit of knowledge, I found the Water Balance Model workshop to be astounding value,” reports workshop participant Michelle Sorensen; a professional engineer with CTQ Consultants Ltd, a consulting firm based in Kelowna, British Columbia.

“I can see how the graphical results would allow me to communicate relevant information to my public and private-sector clients about the effectiveness of rainwater capture and runoff control options – not with complicated tables and calculations, but with relevant, easy-to-understand visual comparisons of the incremental benefits and costs.  What a great tool!”

TO LEARN MORE: To read an earlier story about the workshop, click on  Okanagan Basin Water Board hosts first in 2012–2013 Series of “Water Balance Model Training Workshops”

To download a copy of the Workshop Handout that guided this interactive knowledge-transfer session, click on Sustainable Rainwater Management in British Columbia: What Does It Look Like?

E-Blast #2012-10

March 13, 2012

Partnership for Water Sustainability launches Inter-Regional Education Initiative on Vancouver Island

Rainwater Management in a 

Watershed Sustainability Context 

Vancouver Island is a hot-bed of progressive ideas and provincially significant initiatives. In particular, four regional districts and their member municipalities have been taking steps to plan for water sustainability and put in place implementation strategies. The four are:

• Comox Valley Regional District
• Regional District of Nanaimo
• Cowichan Valley Regional District
• Capital Regional District

"Each region has developed a provincially significant plan or approach to achieve water and watershed sustainability," observes Derek Richmond, Manager of Engineering with the City of Courtenay, and Chair of CAVI-Convening for Action on Vancouver Island. "All are striving to implement a consistent regional approach that protects and/or restores natural watershed function over time. All are advancing watershed-based strategies and programs for integrating the site with the watershed and stream. These initiatives all recognize the importance of instilling a land ethic that respects water."

Inter-regional sharing, collaboration, alignment and consistency will accelerate effective implementation of watershed protection objectives within each regional district. The regions are linked by common interests, but are not dependent on each other.

Inter-Regional Education Initiative

“Under the CAVI umbrella, the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC is collaborating with local governments in four regions to implement an Inter-Regional Education Initiative. This initiative will provide the pathway to a consistent approach to water sustainability and green infrastructure up and down the east coast of Vancouver Island,” states Tim Pringle, Partnership President.

“Recognizing that each region has already established its ‘vision and goals’ through a community consultation process, our emphasis is on the ‘what would it look like’ details of implementation and integration. Inter-regional collaboration will result in alignment and a consistent approach to rainwater management in a watershed sustainability context. This will help everyone to go farther, more efficiently and effectively.”

“The inter-regional program will link activities so that everyone can share experiences, benefit from lessons learned, and align efforts with the provincial Living Water Smart and Green Communities initiatives. In the first half of 2012, an educational event will be held in each of the Cowichan Valley, Comox Valley, Nanaimo Region and Capital Region. The common theme will be: Sustainable Rainwater Management: What Does It Look Like?,” concludes Tim Pringle.

TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete story posted on the Water Bucket website, click on Partnership for Water Sustainability launches Inter-Regional Education Initiative on Vancouver Island.

On March 28, the Cowichan Valley is hosting the kick-off event for the 2012 program. For more information, click on Cowichan Valley Regional Team hosts Water Balance Model Forum. The venue is a LEED facility on the Duncan campus of Vancouver Island University.

E-Blast #2012-09

March 6, 2012

Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC connnects water, land....and people

Convening for Action in British Columbia

Commencing in 2010, BC Hydro Power Smart has published a monthly newsletter to celebrate the accomplishments of the champions in the Conservation Community of Practice - these are the individuals and groups who are leading change on the ground, and making a significant difference. The February 2012 newsletter featured the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC. The following is an extract from the article written by Nina Winham.

Our Land Ethic and Water

It falls freely from the sky. It runs across the land, soaks into any open crack. It even flows right through our bodies. Water connects communities to landscape, people to each other.

But in the development of communities, we’ve come to view water as a distinct resource management issue. Which is a problem, according to Kim Stephens. In his quest to improve water management and conservation, he’s learned that connecting people is key.

“I’m a water guy, in terms of my professional training,” says Kim Stephens, a water resources engineer-planner and now the Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in B.C. “And you always see this tendency to silo the two: land and water. But it’s your land ethic that determines what happens in the condition of your water.”

CREATE NEUTRAL FORUMS: Kim’s solution is to draw people together to collaborate - and get them out of the usual conversation frame. “We don’t talk only about water,” he says. “We challenge our audiences, ‘What do we want this place to look like in 50 years?’ Because the decisions we make now about land development will ripple through time."

The Partnership has successfully engaged communities in water-related initiatives on Vancouver Island, in Metro Vancouver, and in the South Okanagan. The group focuses on how to move people from awareness to action to achieve water sustainability through implementation of green infrastructure policies and practices.

“You have to create forums for the conversations that otherwise would not happen,” he says. “You can call a meeting and have people sit around the table, but if they’ve all got their official hats on, you don’t get very far. Creating a situation where you can have a candid conversation is important.” 

TO LEARN MORE: The Conservation Community-of-Practice newsletter story is posted on the Water Bucket website. To access it, click on Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC Connects Water, Land and People.