The Water Balance Model: A Tool for Designing with Nature

1. Douglas College Rain Conference The Water Balance Model: A Tool for Designing with Nature

2. www.waterbalance.ca

3. ‘Designing with Nature’ means: • Create Greener Communities • Strive for a Lighter ‘Hydrologic Footprint’ • Achieve Higher Levels of Stream Protection

4. Drainage Planning in BC Has Been Evolving Over the Decades • 1960s: Pipe and Remove • 1970s: Detain Peak Flows • 1980s: Reactive Mitigation • 1990s: Stream Stewardship* • 2000s: Sharing a Vision** • * Proactive Management • **Watershed-Based Rainwater Management

5. The “Trickle-Down” Evolution of Watershed Management in BC(How the Past is Influencing the Present) • 1970s - society’s reaction to the “dam builders” redefined the engineer’s role, and resulted in an “interdisciplinary and ecosystem approach” to watershed management outside the urban regions • 2000s - society’s reaction to the “pipe sizers” is similarly being translated into an “integrated approach” to urban watershed management at the local government level

7. Inter-Governmental Partnership: Vision • To promote changes in land development practices so that: • The built environment will preserve and/or restore the natural water balance over time • Performance targets will be achieved for rainwater runoff volume and flow rate reduction at the source, where rain falls

8. The Mission is to Create a Legacy • Influence choices by individuals and organizations • Use the term “sustainability” as a lens for considering approaches that influence choices

9. Water Sustainability Action Plan for British Columbia

10. The Goal is Full Integration of Philosophy  Tool  StandardsTo Achieve the Desired Outcome

11. The Missing Link in Watershed Planning has been... • A tool that quantifies the benefits – in terms of reducing rainwater runoff volume - of installing source controls under different land use, soil and climate conditions

12. Water Balance Model promotes Integration of Perspectives • Planners: Tool for Better Use of Space • Engineers: Tool for Pre-Design • Landscape Architects:Tool for Green Solutions • Ecologists: Tool for Watershed Function • Educators: Tool for Social Marketing

14. How the Water Balance Model can be used to make better decisions: • Local Governments - when communicating with the public • Planners and Engineers – when setting performance targets • Developers and their Consultants - when testing scenarios • Environmental Agencies - when monitoring watershed health

15. The Water Balance Model can be applied at three scales: • Site • Subdivision • Watershed

16. WBM Site Scale Building size Hard surface Landscaping CommunityLiveability

17. What was a conversation… becomes interaction!

18. WBM Subdivision Scale: Lot size Road Design Green space Landscaping CommunityLiveability

19. WBM Watershed Scale: Zoning Road Design Green space Landscaping ‘BMPs’ CommunityLiveability

20. Actions on the Ground… • …Will Result in Cumulative Benefits Over Time! Graphic from Smart Growth BC