Primer on Rainwater Management in an Urban Watershed Context
Released in November 2011, the purpose of the Primer on Rainwater Management in an Urban Watershed Context is to provide engineers and non-engineers with a common understanding of how a science-based approach to rainwater management has evolved since the mid-1990s:
- First, research by Richard Horner and Chris May in Washington State identified limiting factors for stream health, and established an order-of-priority. Their findings provided a road map for integrated rainwater management.
- Next, the “made in BC” concept of the Rainfall Spectrum led us to look at rainfall differently. This resulted in the Water Balance Methodology and the ability to quantify and assess the hydrologic effectiveness of ‘green’ infrastructure.
- After that, a fresh look at other early engineering and biophysical research opened a window into the science of stream erosion and how it could be correlated with stream health.
- The synthesis of the three streams of thinking then provided the technical foundation for ‘designing with nature’ in order to soften the ‘water footprint’ of development. In BC, we have continued to build on this foundation.
Pioneer research yielded guiding principles; these are standing the test of time. Evaluation of, and analyses using, the entire rainfall and stream discharge spectrum allows us to see new connections to stream health and to begin the process of creating effective mitigation strategies.
TO LEARN MORE: To download a copy, click on Primer on Rainwater Management in an Urban Watershed Context.
Primer on Urban Watershed Modelling to Inform Local Government Decision Processes
Released in November 2011, the purpose of the Primer on Urban Watershed Modelling to Inform Local Government Decision Processes is to provide engineers and non-engineers with a common understanding regarding ‘appropriate and affordable’ computer modelling. A guiding principle is that the level and/or detail of modelling should reflect what information is needed by local government to make an informed decision. The Primer elaborates on:
- Performance Targets: brings forward a synopsis of key information from Stormwater Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia
- Levels-of-Service: explains why and how the major financial challenge resulting from the ‘unfunded infrastructure liability’ is a driver for a life-cycle approach to asset management and renewal
- Screening / Scenario Tools: introduces the ‘Drainage Infrastructure Screening Tool’ for establishing priorities and making budget decisions for storm sewer system upgrading; and describes the application of the ‘Water Balance Model powered by QUALHYMO’ for establishing watershed-specific performance targets.
From the stream health perspective, appropriate and effective green infrastructure is a way to increase the level-of-service. Expressed another way, green infrastructure that restores the rainfall absorption capacity of the watershed landscape will increase the level of ecological protection.
For storm sewer systems, the process of establishing an acceptable ‘Level-of-Service’ will require local governments to review, examine, and justify the existing standards and how to transition into the future where costs must be balanced against public needs and expectations.
TO LEARN MORE: To download a copy, click on Primer on Urban Watershed Modelling to Inform Local Government Decision Processes.
TO LEARN MORE: To download a copy, click on Primer on Urban Watershed Modelling to Inform Local Government Decision Processes.
Rainwater Management in a Watershed Context - What's the Goal?
In its November-December 2010 issue, Stormwater magazine launched the Green Infrastructure & Community Design Series. Articles in the series have been contributed by members of the Rainwater-in-Context Initative. Led by Paul Crabtree, a Colorado-based engineer, the initiative works to institute rainwater management practices that strengthen and fully complement "new urbanism" at all scales. The umbrella organization for the initiative is the Congress for the New Urbanism.
Published in the November-December 2011 issue, the latest in the series is an article by Kim Stephens and Jim Dumont, two Canadian members of the Rainwater-in-Context Initiative. The article elaborates on how a science-based understanding has informed the process for moving from awareness to action in British Columbia.
"The article is written from a British Columbia perspective," states Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. "The article connects the dots between recent developments in the United States, such as A Strategic Agenda to Protect Waters and Build More Livable Communities Through Green Infrastructure released by the EPA in April 2011, and comparable initiatives that have been underway in British Columbia for the past decade."
"A key message is that we are observing a convergence of understanding," continues Jim Dumont, Engineering Applications Authority for the Water Balance Model Partnership. "On both sides of the 49th parallel, light bulbs are going on about the inter-connectedness of green infrastructure and water sustainability, and the implications for watershed health. We hope that this article will stimulate a cross-border discussion on the relative effectiveness of an educational versus prescriptive approach to leading and implementing change."
TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete article, click on Rainwater Management in a Watershed Context - What's the Goal?
Comox Valley Local Governments Showcase “A Regional Response to Infrastructure Liability"
Through a program of professional development, the regional district and three municipalities are aligning efforts, building leadership capacity and striving for a consistent Comox Valley regional approach to Sustainable Service Delivery.
"The Comox Valley program is built around an annual seminar series. This program is the foundation for a ‘regional team approach’. The seminars provide a neutral forum for sharing, exploring and learning in a way that no other forum currently provides," explains Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia.
"The series is open to developers, consultants, and non-government organizations located in the Comox Valley; and to local governments and others from outside the Comox Valley. The open forum facilitates cross-fertilization of experience and ideas."
TO LEARN MORE: The story of the Comox Valley program is the featured article in the Summer 2011 issue of the Asset Management BC Newsletter. To read the complete article, click on Comox Valley Local Governments Showcase A Regional Response to Infrastructure Liability To download a copy of the complete newsletter, click here.
Infrastructure Liability - A Driver for the 'ISMP Course Correction'
During the November-December 2010 period, the Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia released a series of five articles that are designed to inform local governments and others about a 'course correction' for Integrated Stormwater Management Plans (ISMPs).
The fourth in the series introduced the 'infrastructure deficit' (i.e. 'infrastructure liability') as a driver for the ISMP Course Correction. It connected the dots to Asset Management as a way to re-focus the ISMP process on what really matters. This led to an article in the Asset Management BC Newsletter, published in January 2011.
To download the article, click on Integrated Rainwater Management: Move to a Levels-of-Service Approach to Sustainable Service Delivery.
Our WORD Choice Says It All: "People ‘hear’ the word ‘deficit’ and assume the accountants will fix it all. But people ‘listen’ to the word ‘liability’ and often ask questions or realize some action is necessary," states Wally Wells, Coordinator for Asset Management BC. "So let’s start getting it right and drop the term ‘deficit’. What we really continue to create is an infrastructure LIABILITY. Let’s start using the write language and tell our politicians and our tax payers about our infrastructure liability."
To download the article, click on Integrated Rainwater Management: Move to a Levels-of-Service Approach to Sustainable Service Delivery.
Our WORD Choice Says It All: "People ‘hear’ the word ‘deficit’ and assume the accountants will fix it all. But people ‘listen’ to the word ‘liability’ and often ask questions or realize some action is necessary," states Wally Wells, Coordinator for Asset Management BC. "So let’s start getting it right and drop the term ‘deficit’. What we really continue to create is an infrastructure LIABILITY. Let’s start using the write language and tell our politicians and our tax payers about our infrastructure liability." 
Green Infrastructure: Achieve More With Less
Local governments in British Columbia are faced with this financial challenge: the initial capital cost of infrastructure is about 20% of the life-cycle cost; the other 80% largely represents a future unfunded liability. Each year, the funding shortfall grows," write Kim Stephens, Raymond Fung and Anna Warwick Sears in an article published in the January-February 2011 issue of Construction Business Magazine.
"As infrastructure ages and fails, local governments cannot keep up with renewal and/or replacement. Fiscal constraints provide a powerful impetus for doing business differently. Green infrastructure is part of a holistic approach to ‘achieve more with less’."
"The financial burden and environmental impacts associated with ‘pipe-and-convey’ drainage infrastructure contrast with the benefits of ‘green’ infrastructure at a watershed scale: natural landscape-based assets reduce runoff volumes, have lower life-cycle costs, decrease stresses applied to creeks, and enhance urban liveability."
"Local governments can protect watershed health by means of a ‘design with nature’ approach. This uses more natural features and functions, rather than hard man-made systems, to ‘green’ infrastructure practices. Through a watershed-based plan, local governments can strategically connect the dots between land use planning, development, watershed health AND asset management. And by ‘designing with nature’, local governments could make a very strong case for a ‘sustainable drainage system’, at a lower life-cycle cost," conclude the authors.
TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete article, click on Green Infrastructure: Achieve More With Less to download a PDF copy.
Pathway to Urban Water Sustainability in British Columbia: Partnerships, Collaboration, Innovation and Integration
The January 2010 issue of Environmental Science & Engineering Magazine includes an article about the policy framework put in place by the Province of British Columbia that enables local governments to commit to doing business differently.
The article states that the program goals for Living Water Smart, BC’s Water Plan and the companion Green Communities Initiative constitute a ‘call to action’ on the part of British Columbians to manage settlement change in balance with ecology.
TO LEARN MORE: The article was written by Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. The Partnership has responsibility for Action Plan delivery. The article draws on the perspectives of:
- Lynn Kriwoken - Director, Ministry of Environment
- Glen Brown - Executive Director, Ministry of Community & Rural Development
- Tim Pringle - Special Programs Director, Real Estate Foundation of BC
Rainwater Harvesting: A Way to Meet Targets for Living Water Smart in BC
The March/April 2009 issue of Construction Business included an article written by Kim Stephens, Executive Director of the Partnership for Water Sustainability in British Columbia. The article addressed this BC Government Position:
- Fifty percent of new water municipal needs will be acquired through conservation by 2020 – page 75, Living Water Smart: British Columbia’s Water Plan.
What does this statement of provincial policy mean for architects, engineers and contractors in British Columbia? It means that rainwater harvesting will emerge as a substitute source of water supply, particularly for new commercial and institutional buildings. An example of what this means in practice is the Discovery Green building project in Burnaby; rainwater harvesting will contribute to a reported 72% reduction in reliance on the regional water system.
TO LEARN MORE: To read the complete article, click on Rainwwater Harvesting: A Way to Meet Targets for Living Water Smart in BC. The article by Kim Stephens incorporated contributions by Eric Bonham, Jody Watson, Lynn Kriwoken and Amelia Loye.
