BRITISH COLUMBIA'S STORMWATER MANAGEMENT GUIDEBOOK: INTEGRATING POLICY, SCIENCE AND SITE DESIGN

Municipalities in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, are becoming increasingly committed to reducing the impacts of stormwater runoff on the health of watersheds in their jurisdictions. However, balancing the need to provide flood control and protect property with the need to safeguard fish habitat and preserve water quality can be a significant challenge, especially for municipalities with limited resources.Through an intergovernmental partnership a document called Stormwater Management Planning: A Guidebook for British Columbia has been developed to assist British Columbia municipalities with completion of watershed-based stormwater management plans.The Guidebook is organized in three parts, where: Part A defines the problem, Part B provides solutions, and, Part C defines the process.The Guidebook describes the adverse impacts of past stormwater management practices, and makes the case for a new approach. The Guidebook walks its audience through stormwater management planning, including:how to develop goals, objectives and prioritieshow to undertake public consultationhow to assess watershed healthhow to select, implement and monitor best management practices (BMPs)how to finance the long-term implementation of a stormwater management program.This paper discusses the methodology presented in the Guidebook for moving from planning to action. The objective of this methodology is to focus the financial and staff resources of local governments on implementing ‘early action’ where it is most needed. This approach will ensure that local governments get the best value for their investments and solve the right problems.