Peeling back the Pavement - POLIS Water Sustainability Project

Principle 3: New Governance:
An Integrated Watershed-Based Approach
As the United States Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA) has noted, rainwater must be managed on a
watershed scale. 17 Watershed governance starts a
cultural shift toward integrated and ecosystem-based
land- and water-use management practices. Some
experts and practitioners in the field call this integration “water-centric planning.” 18
Beyond an attitudinal shift, turning ideas into action requires incentives and the
reorganization of internal local government structures. Collaborative planning must
occur across municipal boundaries and should be supported by the introduction
of a formalized coordinating mechanism, such as a Regional Water Commission,
Watershed Authority, or Watershed Agency. This could also be supported
through increased responsibility of and capacity for existing structures, such as
Conservation Authorities or Regional Districts. This formalized entity, whether
something new or building on an existing body, would have a clear mandate to
ensure watershed health and function, thus enabling it to become a crucial formal
player on land- and water-use decisions that affect the surrounding watershed.
Through its coordinating role, such a body would enable municipalities in the same
watershed to share the costs of implementing rainwater management practices
and measures.
Together, these three core concepts—build it better, let rain do the work, and new
governance—illustrate the character and potential of the Rainwater City.
The British Columbia Water and Waste
Association (BCWWA) has taken a progressive
stance on stormwater in its Position Statement
on Management of Stormwater:
"In order to protect water quality and the public, every community
should adopt an integrated watershed based approach to stormwater
management which emphasizes on-site reduction and retention as
best practice and recognizes the need to maintain and enhance existing
infrastructure."
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