1.0 Overview

The 620 km long Bow River originates in the Rocky Mountains within Banff National Park and flows through foothills and prairies to join the Oldman River in southeastern Alberta to form the South Saskatchewan River. The Bow River Basin Council (BRBC) is a multi-stakeholder non-regulatory organization that promotes shared management and long-term stewardship of Bow River Basin for the sustainability of the entire watershed.

FIGURE 1.01 Map of Bow River Basin (PFRA)
CLICK on image for enlarged view.

The BRBC in partnership with the Canadian Water Resources Association sponsored a conference, Municipal Stormwater Management: Issues and Challenges, and workshop, Solutions for Municipalities in the Bow River Basin, in April 1999. The results are contained in the BRBC’s publication, Preserving Our Lifeline: Solutions for Management of Urban Stormwater in the Bow River Basin. Issues raised at the conference were the driving factors behind the production of this website: a made-in-southern-Alberta approach to various aspects of urban stormwater management and its implementation.

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For general information, we suggest reading the following:

• Urban Stormwater Basics contains a general overview of urban stormwater issues, solutions, and recommended planning approaches for the Bow River Basin.

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For technical information, we suggest the following sections:

• Best Management Practices describes various stormwater treatment methods.
• Standards and Guidelines addresses water quality requirements.
• Incentives and Funding provides suggestions for funding sources and partnerships.
• Research and Monitoring presents areas in need of research and suggests specific projects with regard to urban stormwater research, monitoring and information management.

FIGURE 1.02a Sediment loads in Bow River around Calgary (Al Sosiak)
CLICK on image for enlarged view.

While the graph above indicates the sediment loading effects of the City of Calgary, there are comparable effects within smaller urban centres, as indicated by the photo of runoff entering the Bow River at Banff.

FIGURE 1.02b Stormwater runoff entering the Bow River at Banff (Town of Banff)

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