Why Do We Need Innovative Rainwater Management?
Sooke has many beautiful streams and creeks. They are part of the reason many of us choose to live here. However, traditional land clearing and construction practices, and many conventional ways we dealt with the rainwater that falls on a building lot, have caused damage to streams and the creatures that live in them. In Sooke we can still manage to accommodate growth and change if we do it wisely and prevent damage to our streams from new construction and redevelopment.
The kinds of problems caused by simply putting rainwater into a pipe and discharging it quickly to a nearby stream or the ocean shoreline can include:
- toxic pollutants from our roadways, homes, businesses and fields
- high flow erosion of streambeds and sediments smothering fish spawning beds
- lack of groundwater recharge, and
- depleted summer low flows in streams.
The good news is that there are environmentally friendly ways to manage rainwater. So, whether you are a builder, developer, building manager, or are just interested in the health of our streams and riparian areas, please take a look at the innovative examples profiled in our list below. There you will find descriptions of actual built projects in the Region which manage most rainwater on-site, instead of sending it straight into our streams and ocean environments. The examples include rain gardens, green roofs, water reuse, reduced building footprints, narrow roads and underground storage with slow release.
Other great rainwater management resources are profiled at the following web sites:
- http://www.crd.bc.ca/watersheds/LID/rain-water-tour-main.htm
- “Stormwater Source Control Design Guidelines” Parts I through VII at www.metrovancouver.org
- www.waterbucket.ca (see both “green infrastructure” and “rainwater management” sections)
- http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/epd/epdpa/mpp/stormwater/stormwater.html