Going Green to Save Green: Economic Benefits of Green Infrastructure Practices

 Banking on Green

"Whether it arrived years ago and called itself low-impact development or appeared more recently under the name green infrastructure, chances are that, almost anywhere you are in the US, you’ve encountered it," comments Janice Kaspersen, Editor of Stormwater Magazine in an editorial published online. 

"More and more cities are adding green infrastructure to their arsenals as a way to supplement the traditional grey infrastructure of gutters and pipes and storm sewers—infiltrating, reusing, or otherwise diverting runoff to extend the capacity of the existing systems and delay or avoid upgrading and replacing them." 

"A newly released report helps quantify the money many of these cities are saving, and points out other benefits of GI as well."

TO LEARN MORE: American Rivers’ series of new reports highlights the economic benefits of green infrastructure strategies to better manage polluted runoff. These practices, from rain gardens to green roofs, work by capturing rainwater where it falls. By reducing the polluted runoff that flows into rivers and streams, green infrastructure practices play a critical role in protecting clean rivers.To download a copy of the report, click here.

British Columbia Partnership announces that rebuilt “Water Balance Model” now incorporates Climate Change Module

1st Announcement in a Series 

The Water Balance Model for British Columbia is a scenario comparison tool. Recently rebuilt on a Linux platform, the WBM now includes a Climate Change Module. This capability enables a wide range of stakeholders to make decisions based on a detailed assessment of climate change effects on local drainage, without having to decode the huge body of confusing and contradictory literature. Delivering this capability quickly and easily on the web is a 'must' - and this result is a 'first'.

Chris Jensen is the provincial lead in the development of the module. Chris is responsible for advancing climate adaptation in the Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development’s new Integrated Policy Branch.

“Local Governments are making significant progress in preparing for a changing climate, from vulnerability assessments to comprehensive climate adaptation plans. Throughout these processes, a key challenge has been translating global climate science to local land-use decisions. The new Climate Change Module in the Water Balance Model helps overcome this obstacle,” reports Chris Jensen.

“The module applies data provided by the respected Pacific Climate Impacts Consortium (PCIC) at the University of Victoria. We 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.  By comparing historic and future rainfall scenarios, communities have a straightforward way to identify potential impacts and assess how green infrastructure can be used to prepare for climate change.”  

“For the twelve BC and Alberta stations now in the Water Balance Model database, the Climate Change Module generates results for the years 2020, 2050 and 2080. Over time, we will be expanding the database to provide more complete geographic coverage.”

TO LEARN MORE: Click on British Columbia Partnership announces that rebuilt “Water Balance Model” now incorporates Climate Change Module. Anyone can register as a TRIAL USER. Just go to www.waterbalance.ca to set up an account.

E-Blast #2012-16

April 25, 2012

Bowker Blueprint Update: “Watershed Moment” in BC’s Capital Region Connects the Future with the Past

Flagship Project in Oak Bay Demonstrates Commitment to Restoring Watershed Function 

The Bowker Creek Blueprint is precedent-setting. Implementation over the next 100 years will incrementally restore the ‘water balance’ in the urban heart of British Columbia’s Capital Region. And thanks to an influx of cash from the federal government, a stretch of Bowker Creek next to Oak Bay high school will soon have a very different look.

"The Oak Bay High project is an excellent example of how collaboration between local governments, senior levels of government and the school district can produce such positive results for the entire community," states Nils Jensen, Mayor of Oak Bay. "This project also demonstrates Oak Bay's commitment to the preservation and enhancement of our natural environment."

This reach of Bowker Creek is currently contained in an open concrete channel, sustaining no aquatic life or native riparian habitat.

Working Towards a Common Vision

“This flagship project will transform a section of Bowker Creek from a degraded, highly urbanized creek into a naturally functioning water environment. This is a huge catalyst for moving forward and seeing the fulfillment of the watershed vision that is outlined in the Bowker Creek Blueprint,” states Jody Watson, Chair of the Bowker Creek Initiative.

“With the recent acceptance by all three partner municipalities of the Bowker Creek Blueprint: A 100-year action plan to restore the Bowker Creek watershed, moving forward with the flagship Oak Bay High project is a true ‘watershed moment’ for the creek and the community. It will be a wonderful example of how a long-term coordinated plan to restore function to a degraded watershed can happen, piece by piece, and when opportunities arise, when we work together towards a common vision.”

"It's a watershed moment, because it connects the future to all the work that was done in the past," notes Soren Henrich, who represents the Friends of Bowker Creek on the BCI Steering Committee.
 

“In local government, we have seen what works and what doesn’t. The Bowker Creek Blueprint is the outcome of a landscape-based and action-oriented process. It is a truly integrated plan to restore watershed function over time: Agree on the vision. Set the targets. Provide municipal staff with the detail necessary to guide site level decisions as opportunities arise. Then implement,” concludes Jody Watson.

 

TO LEARN MORE: To download the news release about the funding announcement by Infrastructure Canada, click on Oak Bay to rehabilitate and transform section of Bowker Creek.

The Bowker Creek Blueprint demonstrates how major breakthroughs happen when decision makers in government collaborate with grass-roots visionaries in the community to create desired outcomes. To learn more, click on Bowker Blueprint Update: “Watershed Moment” in BC’s Capital Region Connects the Future with the Past.

In February 2010, the Bowker Creek Forum attracted provincial attention to the precedent-setting nature of the Bowker Creek Blueprint. To access the "homepage" established on the Waterbucket website for this transformational event, click here. 

E-Blast #2012-15

April 17, 2012

Bowker Creek Blueprint: Grass-Roots Community Leadership

Four Community Champions

Major breakthroughs happen when decision makers in government work with grass-roots visionaries in the community to create desired outcomes. This is the essence of the Bowker Creek story on southern Vancouver Island. 

Established in 2004, the Bowker Creek Initative (BCI) is precedent-setting in British Columbia. This unique multi-jurisdictional effort brought together local governments, community groups, post-secondary institutions and private citizens. Their collaboration has produced the Bowker Creek Blueprint: A 100-year action plan to restore the Bowker Creek watershed. Over time, a sustained inter-municipal commitment to implementation of plan elements will improve the health of Bowker Creek and its watershed.

Community groups and individuals have taken ownership and responsibility for “telling the story” of the Bowker Creek Initiative. Community buy-in has engendered political and staff support for watershed restoration. 

"The community groups have stepped up and manned the displays at community events; and they have taken information back from the Bowker Table to inform their associations, neighbours and others,” reports Jody Watson, BCI Chair (and Harbours & Watersheds Coordinator for the Capital Regional District). To learn about the contributions of Jody Watson, click on Bowker Creek Initiative celebrates 10-year anniversary; recognizes leadership provided by Chair Jody Watson.

 A Commitment to the Common Good

Through their participation in the BCI, four champions have made a difference to their community:

• Ian Graeme - catalyst; to learn more about Ian, click here
• Chris Jensen - applied scientist; to learn more about Chris, click here
• Soren Henrich - artist; to learn more about Soren, click here
• Gerald Harris - teacher; to learn more about Gerald, click here

“When I met with them to learn their stories, it was clear that each individual is passionate about the social and ecological wellbeing of the Bowker Creek community,” reported Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in BC, in an article published in 2010.

 

“A theme that emerged from my conversations with the four champions can be summed up this way: at the heart of grass-roots community leadership is a commitment to the common good.” 

“Viewed from the outside, the strength of the Bowker Creek Initiative lies in the complementary talents and passions of its de facto leadership team. In a nutshell, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. The key is that they believe in the mission: This is what we want our watershed to look like in 100 years, and these are the steps we will take to get there.”

TO LEARN MORE: To download a comprehensive article about community engagement in the Bowker Creek watershed, click on Shared Responsibility: Community Perspectives on Developing and Implementing the 100-Year Action Plan for Watershed Restoration.

"Looking back, the Bowker Creek Forum in 2002 was THE turning point for restoring watershed health," says Chris Jensen

Making a Contribution

The Bowker Creek watershed is located in British Columbia's Capital Regional District on southern Vancouver Island. The Bowker Creek Urban Watershed Renewal Initiative (BCI) demonstrates how to apply a 'regional team approach' to urban restoration in the Georgia Basin. The players driving the BCI have brought their vision to fruition through development of the Bowker Creek Blueprint. This is a 100-year action plan to restore watershed health.

The Bowker Creek Watershed Management Plan guides all activities undertaken by the BCI. The plan was developed in 2002 by a forum of municipal representatives, community organizations and residents. 

Chris Jensen was a founding member of the Bowker Creek Initiative. He is now an Infrastructure Resource Officer with BC's Ministry of Community, Sport and Cultural Development where he is responsible for the development of tools, programs and policies that aim to improve water sustainability and community infrastructure. 

 

“The Bowker Creek Forum was THE turning point,” emphasizes Chris Jensen. “Use whatever analogy you wish to use to describe the situation, the reality is that there had been a progressive deterioration in creek health and we were at the bottom of the curve. Subsequent to the Forum, there has been a slow progression upwards.”

Chris Jensen: In his own words

“I grew up by Elk Lake on a farm property which had a creek, a pond and a wetland. So I played in water all the time. The water features connected me to nature.”

“Then the day came that my parents subdivided our property and all the water features were removed. The land was paved and sterilized, drained and filled.....there was no longer a place to play.  During this time I also noticed that as the watershed was developed, the more the water quality in local lakes deteriorated. I wondered if there was a link. I wondered if the land my family developed was part of the problem.”

“This experience directly influenced what I would later go onto study at university.  I specialized in hydrology so I could learn how to achieve a balance between development and nature.”

“I wanted to apply this knowledge locally and take it from theory to practice. I didn’t have to look any further than the watershed I live in for the opportunity to do so. I connected with Ian Graeme and together we have been working to improve watershed health for over 10 years.”

 

Developing Needed Tools: “In 2008, I obtained a research fellowship to do my Master’s Degree. The decision to return to UVic was part of my personal evolution from community advocate to developing needed tools for practitioners.”

“My research focus is on HOW to restore the rainfall capture capacity of the Bowker Creek watershed as we redevelop the urban landscape. Because this is the first climate change adaptation study of its kind, we have a chance to show the world how small changes can make a big difference to our cities," concludes Chris Jensen.

TO LEARN MORE: To download a comprehensive article about community engagement in the Bowker Creek watershed, click on Shared Responsibility: Community Perspectives on Developing and Implementing the 100-Year Action Plan for Watershed Restoration.

To read about the applied research completed by Chris Jensen, click on Bigger Pipes or Greener Communities: A Hydrological Assessment of Using Green Infrastructure Practices in British Columbia to Mitigate Future Flooding.

Community Values Drive Bowker Creek Initiative and Blueprint

Stream Restoration is a Bonding Experience

Established in 2004, the Bowker Creek Urban Watershed Renewal Initiative (BCI) is a unique multi-jurisdictional effort in British Columbia's Capital Region. Local governments, community groups, post-secondary institutions and private citizens are collaborating to improve the health of Bowker Creek and its watershed. Bowker Creek has become a demonstration area for urban watershed management and restoration in the Georgia Basin.

The establishment of the BCI was truly driven by the community, and the BowkerCreek Blueprint: A 100-year action plan to restore the Bowker Creek watershed reflects community values. This outcome has been achieved because the BCI is a partnership that has enabled community groups and municipal staffs to coalesce around a shared vision. Gerald Harris, teacher, is a volunteer watershed steward and is a community representative on the BCI Outreach Committee.

Gerald Harris: In His Own Words

“I am a 5-year resident of the Bowker Creek watershed. I love the creek, and I was dismayed by its condition. I want it to be wholesome again. It was a brochure for a Bioengineering Workshop that caught my attention. It was an opportunity to become involved in a hands-on way," states Gerald Harris

“Working with others in the stream is a vital part for me. That’s when we become a community. The experience taps something tribal in us.”

 

“The stream restoration work is exciting when one recognizes the glorious project one is part of. It is a tremendous bonding experience: These are my people and we are of this place. Working together along the creek is one kind of social glue for the committee members."

 

Telling the Story: “For the Bowker Creek Blueprint to achieve what we want, watershed residents need to understand ourselves as part of the Bowker Creek story. We belong among many centuries of people who have lived and will live along the creek. This storytelling aspect needs volunteers telling the story and building community celebrations around it. As more people in the community identify ourselves consciously as Bowker Creek watershed people, the Blueprint will have the political support it needs over the decades."

“There have been salmon and trout in Bowker Creek, and there can be again. To me this is what the work is most concretely abour," concludes Gerald Harris.

TO LEARN MORE: To download a comprehensive article about community engagement in the Bowker Creek watershed, click on Shared Responsibility: Community Perspectives on Developing and Implementing the 100-Year Action Plan for Watershed Restoration.