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It is generally
recognized that stormwater must be addressed during the planning,
design and construction of our communities in a different
manner than in the past.
To achieve development forms which meet our current needs
while preserving and maintaining our natural resources for
the future, it will be necessary to plan our actions in ways
that recognize such things as water quality and quantity,
linkages between surface and groundwater, and dependencies
between physical and biological resources.
- Stormwater Management Guidelines for the Province
of Alberta,
Alberta Environment, 1999, p. 1-1.
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The Bow River Basin Council and the participants in the April 1999
conference on Municipal Stormwater Management strongly endorse a
watershed approach to stormwater management. A watershed is the
geographic area where all water running off the land drains to a
given stream, river, lake, wetland, or coastal water. Rather than
the traditional approach of managing individual waste water discharges,
watershed planning considers management of the watershed as an integral
whole. The central notion of this approach is that anything that
affects water quality, quantity, or rate of movement at one location
can change the characteristics of the watershed downstream.
FIGURE 2.05 Aerial view of urban
development illustrating scale of subwatersheds
(Stantec Consulting)
The watershed planning approach involves:
- looking at the natural characteristics of the watershed
- taking into account existing and future land use
- considering all of the uses of water
- working to ensure that stormwater discharges cause the least
impact possible
- preventing problems before they occur
- taking an active stewardship role with long term responsibility
for the health of the watershed
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