Vancouver<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Published YesterdayUpdated 4 hours ago<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For Subscribers<\/p>\n\n\n\n 11 Comments<\/a>ShareSave for laterGive this article<\/p>\n\n\n\n Listen to this article<\/p>\n\n\n\n When the rainclouds burst over Vancouver one grey day this past winter, Lon LaClaire was delighted to see floodwater streaming into newly terraced pools on the side of a steep hill in an east-side neighbourhood.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. LaClaire, Vancouver\u2019s chief engineer, is part of a team that has been working to ensure much of the city\u2019s abundant rain does not end up flooding through the sewer system, sweeping everything from road debris and toxic chemicals into surrounding waterways \u2013 False Creek, Burrard Inlet, the Fraser River \u2013 along with it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On St. George Street, heavy rain occasionally meant closing the roadway after large amounts of rubble washed onto it. But not this time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe were all watching the water spill out of each of those weirs,\u201d Mr. LaClaire said. \u201cEvery drop of rain on St. George didn\u2019t go to the drain. It performed better than all of our other projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The St. George Rainway is just one example ofthe new approach Vancouver and other Canadian cities are taking to stormwater management. Projects include tree trenches, permeable pavement, marsh-like areas built around sewer openings, plus rain gardens<\/a> and bioswales<\/a>. (The latter two are landscaped features that use vegetation to filter rainwater.) Montreal\u2019s \u201csponge parks\u201d have generated interest and praise, as have Toronto\u2019s efforts to encourage green roofs, which prevent rainwater from flowing down to the streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vancouver\u2019s strategy is not just about protecting the environment. It\u2019s also a cost-saving measure, since the hope is that the city won\u2019t have to spend as much money expanding sewer lines. The St. George project cost about $1.6-million for the water-improvement part. But along with rainwater-capture requirements for new developments, it will save Vancouver $16.5-million in upgrades, according to city estimates.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe tanks and green infrastructure are going to save us hundreds of millions in not needing larger pipes,\u201d Mr. LaClaire said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vancouver\u2019s efforts have been going on for a few years, but were given a renewed push when council approvedthe city\u2019s Healthy Waters Plan earlier this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re super excited to see this kind of work happening,\u201d said Emily Amon, the director of green infrastructure programs at Green Communities Canada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt is certainly among the leaders nationally in sustainable stormwater management. What you see in Vancouver is a more holistic approach. Often these issues elsewhere seem to be disjointed.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n As of March, the city had developed 400 infrastructure projects aimed at treating and detaining rainwater runoff from 321,000 square metres of street. These include tree trenchesbuilt alongside a downtown bike route that absorb water and allow for bigger canopy trees to grow on the street because of the extra moisture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe goal is to mimic the natural hydrology, the same filtering and sponge characteristic of rainforests,\u201d said Robb Lukes, Vancouver\u2019s associate director for green infrastructure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Mr. Lukes, who has worked in this field for 23 years, said other cities are taking similar steps. Seattle, Portland, Philadelphia and New York have been especially aggressive, with thousands of projects apiece.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, he said, Vancouver is catching up with those American cities in terms of standardizing the approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re making it business as usual everywhere. Any big road project, we look at how to put in green infrastructure. We\u2019re a bit ahead of the curve in Canada.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example,any time the city installs a corner bulge \u2013 an improvement that extends the sidewalk out at intersections to make pedestrian crossings shorter \u2013 it builds in \u201cbioretention\u201dinstead of spending the same $20,000 to $30,000 to move the catch basin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even though the rainwater projects are a small part of the city\u2019s overall system so far \u2013 the 27 hectares they cover represent 1 per cent of totalstreet area \u2013 officials are eyeing the potential financial benefits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The council has budgeted $4-billion to spend in the next 50 years on its healthy-waters initiatives, in addition to its work to separate sanitary and storm sewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Larger buildings in Vancouver have been required to manage rainwater on-site for several years. The policy was expanded in January, 2024, with developers getting credit for landscaping, green roofs and water reuse systems. The recently built Deloitte office tower has a 230,000-litre holding tank in its underground parking, with the water used for flushing all of the toilets in the building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As of July 1, all new homes require detention tanks, which will add $15,000 to $25,000 in construction costs \u2013 an expense that will likely make some people unhappy. (Detention tanks hold water temporarily. Retention tanks hold water on site so it never gets to the sewer system.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n In a first for Canada, Vancouver has also amended its building bylaw to allow people in private homes to install systems that recycle their greywater from showers, clothes washers and sinks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ultimately, Vancouver hopes to reduce the uncomfortably high number of sewer backups (1,242) and surface floods (2,653) it sees every year \u2013 issues that viscerally bother city engineers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf you look at a Metro Vancouver overflow map,\u201d said Chris Radziminski, a city of Vancouver building-policy engineer, \u201con a rainy day, it\u2019s a little bit sad.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Vancouver can\u2019t stop the rain, but it can control where it ends up Frances Bula Vancouver Published YesterdayUpdated 4 hours ago For Subscribers 11 CommentsShareSave for laterGive this article Listen to this article When the rainclouds burst over Vancouver one grey day this … Continue reading ![\"\"\/](\"https:\/\/www.theglobeandmail.com\/resizer\/v2\/3W2PHFB3ERBITOPDAAFF2G4634.JPG?auth=bf9a58421546401daab4ff20f0d5b689ca55b7674301f1ae7115e35fce3c7fab&width=600&quality=80\")
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