Regional Strategy for Rainwater Management

WHAT IS RAINWATER MANAGEMENT? It's the management of precipitation and associated strategies to protect the health of watersheds and maintain a predevelopment water balance. Synonymous with 'Stormwater Management'. Focused on managing all rain events, not just storms; looks at managing on a watershed scale, for cumulative effects.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

To maintain groundwater recharge
To mitigate flooding
To protect water quality
To enhance climate resilience

WHERE DOES THE REGIONAL STRATEGY COME IN?

The objective of the Regional Strategy for Rainwater Management is to provide a collaborative framework to coordinate actions across jurisdictions to effectively use rain as a resource, promote the maintenance of natural hydrologic function and protect the quality of water. This is a regulatory commitment for the RDN, under the Liquid Waste Management Plan. The RDN's Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program provides the implementation mechanism for strategy and other rainwater related commitments.

WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE PROJECT?

The final strategy is now complete, endorsed by the RDN Board, and posted in the Documents section of this page.

Moving forward, the Regional Strategy for Rainwater Management will be collaboratively implemented with member municipalities, Provincial agencies, Islands Trust and community partners.

Stay tuned for updates on this page.

Thank you to everyone who provided their input during the public engagement stage of the project!

WHAT IS RAINWATER MANAGEMENT? It's the management of precipitation and associated strategies to protect the health of watersheds and maintain a predevelopment water balance. Synonymous with 'Stormwater Management'. Focused on managing all rain events, not just storms; looks at managing on a watershed scale, for cumulative effects.

WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

To maintain groundwater recharge
To mitigate flooding
To protect water quality
To enhance climate resilience

WHERE DOES THE REGIONAL STRATEGY COME IN?

The objective of the Regional Strategy for Rainwater Management is to provide a collaborative framework to coordinate actions across jurisdictions to effectively use rain as a resource, promote the maintenance of natural hydrologic function and protect the quality of water. This is a regulatory commitment for the RDN, under the Liquid Waste Management Plan. The RDN's Drinking Water and Watershed Protection program provides the implementation mechanism for strategy and other rainwater related commitments.

WHAT IS THE STATUS OF THE PROJECT?

The final strategy is now complete, endorsed by the RDN Board, and posted in the Documents section of this page.

Moving forward, the Regional Strategy for Rainwater Management will be collaboratively implemented with member municipalities, Provincial agencies, Islands Trust and community partners.

Stay tuned for updates on this page.

Thank you to everyone who provided their input during the public engagement stage of the project!

Q&A

What are you curious about regarding regional rainwater management? Let us know by posting a question and we will answer it for you!

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Would it not be better to build houses on stilts in flood plains and allow flood waters to flow as nature intended, instead of build barriers like dikes or house mounds?

Chewy asked over 2 years ago

There’s a whole body of work on architectural design relevant to building homes within floodplain areas, referred to by several names: alternative design, flood-proof design and resiliency architecture . There are many methods and strategies to elevate dwellings (eg. piers, pilings, fill) and flood proof materials (i.e., brick, concrete) that can be used to reduce the risk of flooding on the built form.
As with any other new building, the design would have to satisfy the land use regulations (location of dwelling in relation to the land and hazard area) and the BC Building Code.
To determine if a housing design is suitable for the location, the property owner should contact qualified architectural and engineering professionals at the start of the design/planning process.
Moreover, the RDN promotes a whole systems approach to site design to reduce the impact of new development on the natural environment. Further info is available in the RDN Sustainability Site Planning Guide >> www.rdn.bc.ca/sites/default/files/inline-files/RDN-SustSitePlanningGuide-Final-online.pdf << or by contacting the Planning Department at planning@rdn.bc.ca
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What will be the effect of cutting down all the trees and then paving the area at the French Creek Pollution Control Centre, and what “rain water strategy” will the RDN use to mitigate the loss of rain water seeping into the ground?

Chewy asked over 2 years ago

Thanks for your question. Drainage design is included as part of the overall French Creek Pollution Control Centre expansion. Rainwater from the paved areas will flow into ditches and swales where it will infiltrate into the ground. Rainwater that is not able to infiltrate into the ground – e.g. during storm events – will flow through an oil interceptor to treat the stormwater before being discharged to Morningstar Creek.

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Page last updated: 23 Mar 2023, 03:49 PM